AL AL - Paula Ellis, 18, Tuscaloosa, 21 April 1973

Information for this unsolved homicide taken from:

Tuscaloosa County Cold Case File: Homicide - Paula Ellis - 1973

In the spring of 1973 an 18 year old female from Miami, Florida, Paula Ellis, was a freshman at the University of Alabama. On the night of April 21, 1973 Ellis left her residence at Martha Parham Hall and rode a bicycle to a concert being held on the University of Alabama campus. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was playing a midnight concert on Woods Quad. Before noon the following day, Easter Sunday, her body was found approximately 10 miles away. Ellis had been strangled and her body dumped from a bridge. No suspect has ever been arrested in this case.

Not a day for a murder - April 2014

The Ellis case is not the only murder of a University of Alabama student that remains unsolved. Ronald Perryman was shot in his home in 1976, and Chanda Fehler was found in the Black Warrior River in 1987, but some progress has been made in their cases over the years. Paula Lee’s murder, on the other hand, is no closer to being solved than it was that morning in 1973.

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According to an April 23, 1973, Crimson White article, friends of Paula Lee said she was last seen in her dorm at midnight before leaving for the rock concert at Woods Quad. Other reports vary, saying she was last seen anytime between midnight and 2 a.m. The next time someone saw her, she was lying in a ditch in Northport.

Fields said Paula Lee’s body was taken to Strickland Hayes Funeral Home in Tuscaloosa, where an autopsy was performed by a medical examiner. Fields said the method used to kill her appeared to be a belt, and there were no signs of sexual assault.

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“The university police was working it, the Tuscaloosa police was working it, and the state was working it,” Murphy said. “The Alabama State Troopers was working it, and the Sheriff’s Office was working it, and everyone was wanting to take credit for solving it. And as a result, a lot of evidence was lost. No one wanted to tell the other agency.” When the Homicide Unit formed in the aftermath of Paula Lee’s murder, Murphy said the Sheriff’s Office never received any evidence from the other agencies investigating the case.

“To my knowledge, we never received any records from anyone else and continued to lead the unit in that particular case, but as far as ever getting anything from another agency, I don’t know of any evidence that was recovered,” Murphy said.

Paula Lee’s clothing, in particular, has an uncertain history. Fields said he believes Paula Lee’s pants would probably be the best candidate for modern DNA testing, but Murphy said he never found out what had happened to the clothes.

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Several suspects were investigated by law enforcement agencies over the next year, but none were ever officially charged. Wayne Murphy, a retired investigator with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, said he believes the killer is Charles Michael Brewer, a suspected serial murderer currently serving time for the 1980 murder of Lynn Holland, a 20-year-old Alberta City resident. Holland, who had multiple surgeries and wore leg braces to help her walk, was found strangled and beaten on the bank of the Sipsey River.

Murphy was not part of the original investigation into the Ellis case in 1973, but he began working with the Homicide Unit three years later. He said Holland’s body was found in similar condition to Paula Lee’s, also without any sign of sexual assault.

“I think everyone down there was in agreement on that, and I don’t know what their feelings are today, but we were in pretty much unanimous agreement,” Murphy said.

Fields, who worked directly on the Ellis case, said there was never a primary suspect.

“We never really got close to anyone that we could say was a real good suspect,” he said.

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Charles Michael Brewer v. State. Brewer is also a person of interest in the disappearance of Betty White.

Ellis Case Frustrates Police Here - May 1973

Coed's Death Still Baffles Investigators - July 1988

Decades Later, Victim's Mom Vows to Keep Killer Locked Up - June 2002, more information on Brewer.

Paula Lee Ellis


Paula Lee Ellis, was finishing up her Freshmen year at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1973. Paula was born and raised in Birmingham until she was 7 years old, when her family moved to Miami, Florida. Having just graduated high school she decided to attend the University of Alabama. With the end of the school term coming to a close, Paula wanted to have some fun and let loose. She decided that she wanted to go see the rock band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as they were playing at the Wood Quad on the campus. Paula asked several of her friends to go with her to the concert, they all declined. Paula left her dorm room at the Martha Parham Hall intending to attend the concert a little after midnight on April 21, 1973. She never made it to the concert.

A little after 9:00 a.m. on April 22, 1973, Easter Sunday, Paula's purse and the contents of her purse were found scattered on a bridge on Flatwoods Road in Northport. Police were concerned, the way the items had been discarded suggested that they had been thrown from a moving vehicle. They soon decided to search the area; about 100 yards away they found the body of Paula Ellis in a ditch beside the bridge. She had been pushed from a moving vehicle and her purse thrown from the car after her. Police found Paula's bicycle at the Wood Quad not long after finding her body; which suggests that she did arrive at the Wood Quad.

When Paula was found, she was wearing nothing but her bra and halter top, which had been pushed up around her neck. Her other clothing items were thrown beside her. Although she was partially naked, at her autopsy it was discovered that she had not been raped or sexually assaulted. Paula had been strangled with an instrument about an inch wide, police speculated that it was probably a belt of some sort. She was then taken to Strickland Hayes Funeral Home in Tuscaloosa until her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Ellis, arrived.

Police believe that she was murdered by someone that she knew, either a friend or an acquaintance; as they do not believe that she would have willingly left with someone she did not know. Soon after the investigation began family, friends, and the governor put together a $2,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the murderer.

There have been several suspects throughout the years; but only 2 were thoroughly investigated by the police. Douglas Faust, whom had asked Paula out on a date numerous times which she always declined. The night of her murder he called her at least three times, however she was not at the home at the time. Douglas had an alibi though, as he was on a date with another young lady whom confirmed his whereabouts. The second suspect was Charles Brewer, whom was found guilty of murdering a young lady, whom was handicapped. She had been murdered in the same manner as Paula and was found partially nude but had no signs of sexual assault. Charles never confessed to the murder of Paula and there was not enough evidence to prove that he had murdered her.


Doug Faust - an early suspect
Hometown: Fairhope, AL

As of this writing it has been 43 years since the murder of Paula Lee Ellis, police are still looking for clues, evidence, and leads regarding this case. If you have any information, please contact the Tuscaloosa Sheriff's Department at 205-752-0616

LINK:

Paula Lee Ellis