VA VA - Jessica Hatch, 12, murdered, Richmond, 5 February 1984

http://www.richmond.com/news/local/crime/article_8f820093-bd1c-57f7-8668-d204b6e94a40.html

It was supposed to be an easy 10-or 15-minute amble at dusk along nine mostly residential blocks for a dinner of cabbage and potatoes at her grandmother’s house... But the 12-year-old never arrived, and precisely what happened 32 years ago in the 20 minutes or half-hour between the time she set out and when her uncle went looking for her remains unsolved, tormenting her family and a mournful community.

Her upper torso was found more than two months later in a remote part of Hanover County, dragged, it appeared, by animals from among a thicket of trees and brush across the street to the backyard of a mobile home.

Authorities have never charged anyone in Jessica’s death. But in recent years, investigators with the Hanover Sheriff’s Department have leveraged modern science to find new evidence for the case that they hope will bring them ever closer to finding the killer.

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http://www.richmond.com/news/local/...cle_bf947e8b-eeff-55fe-a308-afbff53db723.html

Her remains were found on April 12 of that year on Watkins Road in a rural, wooded area of Rockville in Hanover County. Information on the cause of death has not been released...

It was around dusk, around 6 p.m., on that winter evening in 1984 when Jessica took off from the 2900 block of West Grace Street to the 3200 block of Hanover Avenue. The route she preferred had her traveling North Sheppard Street, a distance of 0.62 miles according to MapQuest.

MapQuest lists the journey from Richmond to that remote portion of Hanover County at a little more than 25 miles.

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This lovely child is my maternal first cousin. Our family has grieved and wondered and suffered for 32 long years. I am grateful for the recent news articles and for the new thread on this forum. I really, really hope that given today's technology and social media reach - someone will come forward. Surely there are people out there who know what happened to Jessie - may their hearts be softened in favor of the TRUTH so that this case will finally see justice. Thanks WebSleuths.

I'm so sorry SMFuller. She was such a lovely and pretty girl.

Do you and your family have any ideas as to what might have happened to her? My first thought was she was kidnapped. Were there any other incidences in the neighborhood involving young girls being molested or approached by someone?

Again, so sorry. I hope you will find answers soon!

Thanks for your kind words. She was indeed lovely, and she was on the inside too, a very warm and thoughtful young lady.

I am not Jessie's formal 'next of kin' so am not privy to all the various scenarios that the police have explored, but yes, the article mentions the possibility that she was seen getting into a pickup truck, so it's very plausible that she was lured into danger by a stranger. One of the articles also says that one of their early suspects ended up with some sort of peeping tom conviction as a result of this investigation, that he had approached Jessie and some other girls - but I'm not sure if that eliminated him as a further suspect in Jessie's death, or if that was just as far as they were able to prove and he may still be a suspect - I just don't know.

You are asking the same questions my family has been asking for 32 years. We too hope for answers soon!

SMFuller,

You were kind enough to add me to your Facebook Page just yesterday. I was about three years younger than Jessica when she was abducted. I am 40 years old now, and in ALL this time, I have never forgotten her name and her picture has "haunted" me. I lived off of Monument Avenue, so she and I lived in relatively close proximity too.
Honestly, SMFuller...Jessica's case is the reason I joined WebSleuths hoping to find information. It's amazing how things like this impact the rest of our lives...even if we never knew each other.
The memory of Jessica taught me many things...including safety, I've never walked alone, and I have always been a "paranoid" cautious.
I have no words that are profound enough, nor hugs warm enough, that could exude all the compassion, strength, love and happiness I wish I could give your entire family.

Wow. All these years my family has felt so alone in our grief over this, it's nice to be reminded that there are others who took notice, and who still remember. I have thought often of her classmates and schoolmates at Binford Middle School, surely she had friends who felt this loss nearly as profoundly as we did, I hope some of them make their way to WebSleuths too. There was no social media back then, so there was not the extensive community outreach we see surrounding such tragedies these days. I'm glad someone started this thread for Jessie here on WebSleuths, my little memorial page on facebook didn't get much traffic, and this type of board is, in my opinion, the most promising way for the case to go forward if it can. Thanks for your kind words, and for remembering our Jessie.

(Side note, I like your little autism graphic, my little guy also "makes the world a happy, more beautiful place just by being in it" with his quirky, adorable, so so sweet, and very mildly autistic ways.)

God bless your sweetest soul and that of your family.
That's it!! We are gonna put our heads together...brainstorm and get some kinda ball rollin!! WE CAN DO THIS!! WE ARE GOING!! TO DO THIS!! Ok, I totally understand what people mean now when they say, "Justice for ______."
Even more ironic, a dear friend of mine, I've known since we were about 13, lives on Shepphard Street which, is obviously, the route Jessie traveled. I didn't know this until a few years ago...so when I walk up and down the city blocks getting to his apartment it's a bit surreal. Again, I gues it just shows everything in life both good and bad, happen for reasons we shall never understand.
Lemme see what I can do about getting this Autism pic to you!! The fact that both our sons have Autism is striking...even though one in ten is diagnosed.
It's a small, fascinating world isn't it?

Any visual aids come available. Please post.
Feb. 5, 1984............A Sunday. In all the cold cases i have read. A case like this done on a Sunday evening around 6Pm is RARE!.........Six tenths of a mile. She gets half way to grandmas, she is like right there! This girl was taken quick. Sunday evening......People at home watching TV, persons maybe going to Church services that night.......Maybe watching football on the local channels.

Waiting, and wanting to know about any DNA profile they may have created. Just want to know if or when they will have run that in the data base. Want to know if there is a matching profile on the system. If there is, and the person still alive then an arrest can be made. If no match then we think of things as if the perp if still living has not done anything to have there DNA collected and put in the data base. Which means a first and last time offender. So yes, will be waiting about the DNA profile.

I am not 100 percent certain that this was a total stranger abduction. Either she knew the killer in some aspect or she knew of persons there that the killer knew but she didn't know the killer etc...........

Something was going on in that area where she was taken on that night. Someone visiting someone and was headed home, someone leaving a function that was ending and leaving the area, and came upon OR, she came upon them. Perhaps walking in the same direction or in opposite directions whatever.

I do agree with the chance encounter. Nothing premeditated about it. As far as selecting this girl. That would include knowing exactly where she was and when she was leaving moms to go to grandmas for dinner and the time to wait on her.

I think someone leaving after visiting a house or function met her there on the street/sidewalk.
I don't think a killer just happened to be patrolling that area and looking for a victim at that time on that day. But someone whom had planned to be in that area for whatever reason. Right around her home, but probably more closely to the grandmas house..........She walk a few tenths of that sixth before leaving the area.

Someone leaving that area and headed to the area where she was found. Maybe a home, apartment whatever in that area, surrounding where she was found. That was preplanned, knowing that spot in advance, a good spot from what appears in the article. An area one would know about, from being there before, knowing on that night it would be quite spot to go. Probably knew no one live very close to that spot and would be isolated. Nearest neighbors to that spot may have been miles away(Or very close, dont know, other than dead end street). Left before dark at dusk, about twenty five miles later it would have been dark in that area.

The killer probably lives around where she was found. And ran into the girl and after death whenever that was left her at that spot and went home.

I do think there was a sexual encounter(Not raped) and killed that same night, probably after arriving at the spot/area where she was found. And then the killer went home around there.

Heres a question for a family member or anyone whom knew the family well enough to tell us.
Did she or the family know of persons whom lives/lived in the general area where she was found twenty five/six miles away??

Some factors to consider in these type of cases :

In general most child abduction murders are by happenstance IE, the offender is not out actively seeking a victim, but they come across the victim by chance and act because the opportunity favors the offender

The victims lifestyle is generally low risk, high risk for the offender , the victim risk factor is often elevated by no more than time place and situation (IE being alone)

The victim is often unknown to the offender and vice versa

The offender in a large majority of cases is in the area of the abduction for legitimate reasons, they usually live or work nearby, or they frequent someone or someplace in the vicinity

The mean age of the offender at the time of the offense is around 27 years old, but this can vary greatly.

The offender usually lives with parents, a parental figure or alone though this does not negate them being married or in a relationship at the time of the offense

Often there is what is referred to as a "precipitating stressor" , or a triggering event in the days or even weeks prior to the offense

Most common method of victim acquisition is force (either applied/or threat of use) followed by ruse

The event is for the most part unplanned, some preparation is sometimes taken (IE rape kits, vehicle door locks disabled etc)

In most cases the child is abducted less than .5 mi from their residence

The victim is often transported greater than .5 mi from where they were abducted

The victim is usually deceased within 3 hours of the abduction event (Most missing children aren't even reported on average for 2 hours after they have already been abducted)

The homicide crime scene is most often within 200 feet of where the body of the victim is recovered (a large number occur within the offender's vehicle)

The body recovery site is often a site chosen by the offender out of familiarity with the location

Strangulation/Asphyxiation are the most common causes of death as the event is usually unplanned

The background of the offender will often exhibit crimes of impulse , as well as crimes of a sexual nature usually involving children

Following the crime the offender may exhibit :
-Unusual interest in the case
-To a lesser degree the offender may exhibit a strange avoidance to anything surrounding the crime (wont speak about/refuses to go near area) etc
-May inject themselves into the investigation (helps search for the victims, may become familiar to law enforcement surrounding the case , seemingly out of nowhere, )
-Is often (though not always ) interviewed by law enforcement within the 1st 7-14 days of the investigation
-May suddenly and unexpectedly re-locate with little or no explanation
-May have trouble accounting for , or provides a suspicious explanation to account for their whereabouts and time at the time of offense
-General irritability/uneasiness
-Increase in alcohol/tobacco/or drug use
-sudden change in appearance (hair/weight loss or gain etc..)
-suddenly ridding themselves of, or the destruction transfer or alteration of personal property (destroying or getting rid of articles of their clothing /selling/changing the appearance of/or reporting the theft of a vehicle)
-Unexplained items in offenders possession (clothing/jewlery/forms of identification etc..)
-Those around the offender will have most likely noticed some of the above but have chosen not to mention it (Rationalization/Fear/Love for the offender/Loyalty/or Moral ineptitude )
-In most cases someone close to the offender either know, or strongly suspect the offender , the offender may have admitted the crime to another trusted individual

There have been cases where the victim is lured into the offenders residence (Megan Kanka ex) which poses a higher risk for the offender as they now have to remove a deceased victim/transport the deceased victim, and dispose of the victim unseen. In this case the spatial relationship however held true as her body was recovered just outside the offenders residence .

Just some factors to consider

Here's another article...
There are lots of rules and regulations about posting at WebSleuths and providing links as support (and I'm not even sure if I'm doing this right). Therefore, I have copied and pasted the part of the article that mentions Jessie...and provided a link.
If I'm incorrect in my approach, or erred because names were mentioned, please advise.

http://infrakshun.blogspot.com/2011/06/satans-little-helpers-part-i.html?m=1

"In February 1984, in Virginia, Richmond, 12 year old Jessica Hatch had set out to walk to her grandmother’s house. She never arrived. Her upper torso was discovered outside the city with wounds and markings suggestive of ritual abuse. Just a few months previous to the murder, two children, ages 7 and 5, were taken into care after allegations that their mother and her boyfriend had been sexually abusing them. The children said they were forced to witness the murder of a 12-year-old girl during a cult ritual. While the police later found occult paraphernalia, at the home of the abused children testimonies were unforthcoming as they would ‘would freeze up...’ and the police ‘couldn't tell whether they were telling the truth or fantasizing.’ 9 The sexual abuse charges were dismissed.*
*
A convicted sex offender and friend of the two suspects Gary Jay Beattie was: “arrested for making indecent proposals to a 9-year-old girl and two 13-year-old girls. All three girls knew Jessica Hatch and said that Beattie had also propositioned her. Beattie was acquitted of accosting the 9-year-old, but entered a plea bargain on outstanding sex charges involving the 13-year-old victims. His 5-year prison sentence was suspended.” 10*


Beattie continued to be in and out of court on multiple charges of voyeurism which is not indicative of satanic abuse. However, he was seen as the closest thing to a suspect, though his history and character did not fit the butchering and mutilation characterised by the Hatch case. According to the local magazine in the area, it was not until a Richmond homicide detective “leaked” the true story that the crime was officially labelled as a satanic sacrificial killing. According to the police officers interviewed there was a certain “police dilemma” in handling the ritual-in-progress situations which meant that the “police couldn’t legally interrupt a satanicsacrifice ritual until the High Priest’s hand is actually seen arching downward toward the sacrifice-victim-to-be.”11 Constitutional protections of the free exercise of religion were cited. While important constitutional rights disappear we have the exercise of freedoms for those to prey upon others still in place. Ergo, Jessica Hatch murder remains unsolved."

Bump!!

SMFuller, I was Jessica's best friend at the time of her disappearance. I am still heartbroken at this tragedy and I was sure I knew who did it and told the police so when they came to talk to me that night. Since he was not arrested then it seems it wasn't him but my gut still tells me he had something to do with it. Even though I was only 9 at the time, I have constantly thought of her through the years and my single greatest fear is to suffer how her mother has. I know this brings no comfort but I just wanted you to know she is not forgotten and someone else out there still loves her. Kim

Bump!!

My name is Heather and Jessica was my best friend at the time of her disappearance. We went everywhere together, roller skated,explored the museum, and had sleepovers. I lived on Stuart Ave at the time and went to Robert.E.Lee elementary. I walked that same path to her grandmother's with her multiple times,and probably would have been with her that day if I had not gone to a foster home that very same day. I have never gotten over her death,as I was unable to see her family or attend her service after I was put in the horrid foster home. I was devastated when I got the news. I was the 9 yr old that went to court and testified against Gary Beattie,after reading the Articles here recently I didn't know that he was acquitted I don't understand why because he definitely came at me and Jessica in sexual ways verbally ALOT when we would be out in the neighborhood together. She was a beautiful,sweet,loving girl and I miss her and think of her alot.Ive seen her mom several times over the years in and around the fan. Last time was in 2008. She remembers me and I hope she knows how truly sorry I am that it happened and I love her. Hanover Cold Case detectives tracked me down in 2009 and questioned me about our activities back then and asked if I had any new info or remembered anyone that possibly could have done this. I grew up to become obsessed with forensics and detective magazines. I even considered a career in forensic science. Anyway,I am glad I found this thread and I'm going to keep praying that the monster who did this gets justice for taking her From us.

Jessica Lee Sterling Hatch disappeared February 5th 1984 walking to her grandmothers house in Richmond, Va. Her body was found 2 months later in a remote area of Hanover County, Va.
There have been several attempts by law enforcement to solve this case. Any help or information would be helpful.

Hi All,

First post, so let me know if I need to adjust anything. I stumbled across this thread today and was intrigued, as I currently live in the Museum District (MD) neighborhood that Jessica was abducted from. I thought I would share some background info about the MD and Jessica's reported usual route, in case anyone finds it beneficial. Just a note--I've lived here for quite a few years, but only as an adult, so my experience is going to be limited to the last 15 years or so. I'm not directly familiar with this immediate area during the 80s, so any locals on this thread are welcome to jump in and supplement or correct any of my info. I couldn't find any good maps from the 80s, so I'm just using google maps. I'm pretty sure the general setup is similar, although some individual businesses have turned over.

Before I get into my observations of the area, I wanted to point something out real quick:
The 2nd article linked in post #1 may be inaccurate with locations and direction of trip.

It was around dusk, around 6 p.m., on that winter evening in 1984 when Jessica took off from the 2900 block of West Grace Street to the 3200 block of Hanover Avenue. The route she preferred had her traveling North Sheppard Street, a distance of 0.62 miles according to MapQuest.

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Based on an article from 1989, as well as what looks to be an image of an original poster, it appears that Jessica resided at 3208 Hanover (MD), and was headed in a Northeasterly direction to her grandmother's residence at 2716 W. Grace (Fan).

Officer haunted six years after girl's murder

With that said, here are my observations based on Jessica's reported usual route:
This is an overview of her most likely route based on reports that she usually took Sheppard. So she probably went east on Hanover, North on Sheppard, and finally East on Grace. The Boulevard (noted as Route 161 on this map), is the dividing line between the MD and Fan neighborhoods Most of the route is in the MD, with the last half-block in the Fan. The MD used to be known as the West of the Boulevard neighborhood. The areas this route would have taken her through aren't consistently high-trafficked areas, and varies block-by-block. Peak activity times are usually weekday mornings/evenings, and Friday/Saturday nights. Higher activity during the warmer months. So at 6pm on a Sunday in early February, it would most likely be dark or almost dark, with sparse foot/auto traffic. Some areas aren't very well lit at all. The exception to all this would be the Blvd, which is a major N/S thoroughfare. The MD is one of our safer neighborhoods, but we still get our fair share of crime. We've had 2 robbery/homicides (that I can think of) in the last 20 years--both are still unsolved. There was a violent home invasion on the Blvd between Grace and Broad maybe 10-15 years ago. There have been some armed robberies of businesses/individuals and a decent amount of petty theft/vandalism, but it isn't rampant. I myself have had a scary encounter.

خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

This is the first of 3 areas along the route that I wanted to highlight. The circled area is a wooded area that borders the parking lot of the history museum (previously the Historical Society). It isn't so thick that you can't see homes across Sheppard from the back of the parking lot, but could potentially provide cover for someone, especially in the dark.


This second area is known as The Devils Triangle (a reference to the streets forming a triangle ). It's a small commercial zone embedded in the MD. The 7-11 can attract some shady characters. Years ago, before I moved here from Downtown, I did a search on the sex offender registry run by VSP for the area, and noted that there were a lot of sex offenders located on W. Grace (Main St. being another high-concentration area). I took another gander a few weeks ago, and was surprised to learn that a sex offender (rape) worked at the 7-11 circled below (I try to keep an open mind, but that just downright creeps me out). Anyway, it got me thinking, that maybe Jessica's killer worked in the MD and lived in Hanover Co. where her body was found.


This last area shows the route crossing over the Blvd and into the Fan, before arrival at destination. If you go about a mile North on Blvd, you can hop right on I-95 to Hanover. Broad St. is another major thoroughfare, that goes E/W. The Broad/Blvd intersection is commercial and a bit sketchy. Its gotten a bit better in the last few years, as the area has become more developed.


Again, this all from a more current perspective, so hopefully I'm not too off base! I'm sure I'm missing some of the things I wanted to say, but it's late and my brain is fried. I'll post more tomorrow if I think of what it was.

Read they sent her clothing for DNA testing in 2010 and some other pieces of evidence in 2016. Wonder if they had any success finding DNA.

I regret to report that Jessie's mother, Ellen, passed away (in December 2018) with no justice and no answers.

I lived two blocks away from Jessica. I remember her disappearance. I was 16 years old. I also remember Gary. He prowled around my house as well. He hung out with a guy named Emmit who called, came by, and knocked on my door many times. I was very clear his advances were not wanted. He later was found on my front porch peaking in my window by my older sister’s boyfriend and scared off. My father Later threatened To call the police if he called again. After Jessica disappeared I never saw him again. I always wondered if the cops looked into him as well. I would love to know who the suspects were that the cops were looking at besides Gary. I was young and didn’t really understand predatory behavior and I don’t know anything about this guy. I just knew he and Gary made me uneasy.