nerosleuth
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My mother was a teenager living in Eastern Kentucky and she remembers this old murder case that happened in Prestonsburg, Kentucky during the summer of 1949.
Sixty seven years ago today, on the evening of Monday June 27, 1949, Muriel Baldridge, a pretty seventeen year old Prestonsburg High School cheerleader, attended a carnival with three of her girlfriends in Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
Later that evening, Muriel Baldridge and her girlfriends were walking home. They parted ways at the West Prestonsburg Bridge which went across the Big Sandy River.
Muriel Baldridge was walking across the West Prestonsburg Bridge by herself going towards her parents home when she was abducted and assaulted by an unknown person.
Screams were reportedly heard by in the neighborhood that night, but the crime was unseen as her killer disappeared into the night.
On the morning of Tuesday June 28, 1949, Muriel Baldridges badly beaten body was found on the riverbank underneath the West Prestonsburg Bridge. She had fatal blows to the head, and her head was smashed in.
Sadly, the location where her body was found was a little more than 50 feet away from her parents home.
Among the evidence that were found at the crime scene near her body were several footprints on the ground, an 8 inch lead pipe, and an empty whiskey bottle near the bridge. Her necklace was also found hung in a small peach tree that had been uprooted.
Police Investigators believed that Muriel Baldridge had been attacked near the West Prestonsburg Bridge and apparently dragged along a small walking path near the rivers edge.
Numerous people were questioned by police investigators days after the brutal murder of Muriel Baldridge.
During the murder investigation, a 15 year old carnival worker claimed that he saw another carnival worker commit the murder. But two weeks later, the youth admitted that he had fabricated the story about witnessing a murder.
After an exhaustive police investigation, two Prestonsburg residents were later charged in the murder of Muriel Baldridge.
One of the residents was a well known member of the Prestonsburg Board of Education, and the other resident was a neighbor of Muriel Baldridge.
A change of venue moved the murder trial from Floyd County to nearby Pike County.
The board of education member was the first person to go on trial and was facing the death penalty for the murder of Muriel Baldridge.
After the sensational murder trial went to the jury, the jury deliberated less than two hours before finding the board of education member not guilty for the murder of Muriel Baldridge.
The jurys not guilty verdict in the board of education members sensational murder trial resulted in the murder charge being dismissed against the resident who was a neighbor of Muriel Baldridge.
The Muriel Baldridge murder case is still open as her murderer has never been brought to justice.
The murder of Muriel Baldridge remains unsolved to this day.
Sources:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyjohnso/MMBaldridge.htm
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=fls&FLid=82268598&FLgrid=66018700
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66018700
Sixty seven years ago today, on the evening of Monday June 27, 1949, Muriel Baldridge, a pretty seventeen year old Prestonsburg High School cheerleader, attended a carnival with three of her girlfriends in Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
Later that evening, Muriel Baldridge and her girlfriends were walking home. They parted ways at the West Prestonsburg Bridge which went across the Big Sandy River.
Muriel Baldridge was walking across the West Prestonsburg Bridge by herself going towards her parents home when she was abducted and assaulted by an unknown person.
Screams were reportedly heard by in the neighborhood that night, but the crime was unseen as her killer disappeared into the night.
On the morning of Tuesday June 28, 1949, Muriel Baldridges badly beaten body was found on the riverbank underneath the West Prestonsburg Bridge. She had fatal blows to the head, and her head was smashed in.
Sadly, the location where her body was found was a little more than 50 feet away from her parents home.
Among the evidence that were found at the crime scene near her body were several footprints on the ground, an 8 inch lead pipe, and an empty whiskey bottle near the bridge. Her necklace was also found hung in a small peach tree that had been uprooted.
Police Investigators believed that Muriel Baldridge had been attacked near the West Prestonsburg Bridge and apparently dragged along a small walking path near the rivers edge.
Numerous people were questioned by police investigators days after the brutal murder of Muriel Baldridge.
During the murder investigation, a 15 year old carnival worker claimed that he saw another carnival worker commit the murder. But two weeks later, the youth admitted that he had fabricated the story about witnessing a murder.
After an exhaustive police investigation, two Prestonsburg residents were later charged in the murder of Muriel Baldridge.
One of the residents was a well known member of the Prestonsburg Board of Education, and the other resident was a neighbor of Muriel Baldridge.
A change of venue moved the murder trial from Floyd County to nearby Pike County.
The board of education member was the first person to go on trial and was facing the death penalty for the murder of Muriel Baldridge.
After the sensational murder trial went to the jury, the jury deliberated less than two hours before finding the board of education member not guilty for the murder of Muriel Baldridge.
The jurys not guilty verdict in the board of education members sensational murder trial resulted in the murder charge being dismissed against the resident who was a neighbor of Muriel Baldridge.
The Muriel Baldridge murder case is still open as her murderer has never been brought to justice.
The murder of Muriel Baldridge remains unsolved to this day.
Sources:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyjohnso/MMBaldridge.htm
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=fls&FLid=82268598&FLgrid=66018700
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66018700
