IL IL - Valerie Percy, 21, Kenilworth, 18 September 1966

[Kathy C]

I remember the murder. I was 10 years old. The reason I remembered it is because one of the networks was going to show Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho for the first time on TV. The network spokesperson said out of respect to Senator Percy and his daughter Valerie, the station will not be airing Psycho.

Then I remember older people saying, people die everyday and because he's a Senator we can't see Psycho?

And then there's the memory of people saying about the Kennedy Assassination years afterward: A lot of people die violently. Is he the only one we have to feel sorry for?

 

[Pharlap]

Hi, I believe you are talking about Valerie Percy, 21 year old daughter of former Illinois senator Charles Percy. It happened Sept 18,1966 in the affluent Chicago suburb of Kenilworth. The family found her dead in her bedroom that morning, having suffered repeated blows to her head and stabbed several times. I don't have any links handy at the moment but it is still an unsolved murder.

I sure remember that. Valerie was one of twins, the other daughter wasn't
harmed....

 

[Jovin]

I sure remember that. Valerie was one of twins, the other daughter wasn't
harmed....

Was the other daughter sleeping in the same room? Most likely not.

 

[joellegirl]

Was the other daughter sleeping in the same room? Most likely not.

No, they had separate bedrooms. Valerie's twin, Sharon, had been out that night and when she got home around midnight(or was it 11pm?) she stopped by her sister's bedroom to return a borrowed raincoat. At that time Valerie was sitting up in bed watching tv. Sharon is the last person to have seen Valerie alive. I believe the murder happened closer to dawn, around 4-5 AM.

 

[mysteriew]

Any signs of sexual assault?
JBean, how old would you and your siblings have been at the time of the breakin? What I am thinking of is the recent string of break in's, where they break in and take a child and leave the house with her to sexually assault and murder.
Also, how close was your house to theirs? Is there any possibility that they could have mistaken your house for theirs? Was there any similiarities in either the houses or the family members where the perp could have gotten the wrong house?

 

[Marilynilpa]

Any signs of sexual assault?
JBean, how old would you and your siblings have been at the time of the breakin? What I am thinking of is the recent string of break in's, where they break in and take a child and leave the house with her to sexually assault and murder.
Also, how close was your house to theirs? Is there any possibility that they could have mistaken your house for theirs? Was there any similiarities in either the houses or the family members where the perp could have gotten the wrong house?

Today is the first time I've read or heard about this case, so I have a lot of catching up to do.

My first question, though, is this - why didn't the dog bark?

 

[HeartofTexas]

My gut feeling is that the Percy family doesn't want the attention a cold case expose on TV would bring. They are/were a very political family. Sharon, Valerie's twin sister, is now married to Jay Rockefeller. I believe he is/was governor of West Virginia now. He could be a senator now, too, for all I know.

BTW, the Crime and Justice forum on Valerie Percy is a very good one for anyone wanting to dig deeper into the case

JBean and Lakante, that is absolutely too eerie for words. Whoa! Gives me shudders just thinking about it, and the murder was almost 40 years ago.

 

[rachrach99]

My dog is almost 17 yrs old, and lazy, and doesn't do anything really......EXCEPT wake the entire neighborhood up by barking when someone walks within 100ft of my house that isn't supposed to be there. It usually wakes me up enough to at least peak out of the window. Also, why did it take the mother so long to go into Valerie's room? She obviously put up a fight, which I think would have been louder than any glass hitting the floor......just some rambling thoughts

 

[Marilynilpa]

My dog is almost 17 yrs old, and lazy, and doesn't do anything really......EXCEPT wake the entire neighborhood up by barking when someone walks within 100ft of my house that isn't supposed to be there. It usually wakes me up enough to at least peak out of the window. Also, why did it take the mother so long to go into Valerie's room? She obviously put up a fight, which I think would have been louder than any glass hitting the floor......just some rambling thoughts

Thanks for your comments. I was also wondering about that - the stepmother hears glass hitting the floor, assumes it's just one of the kids breaking a glass, but doesn't hear what has to have been a noisy battle coming from Valerie's room. The killer must have worked pretty fast, too - he had time to bludgeon Valerie and stab her in a fairly short period of time.

That, plus the fact that the dog didn't bark, makes me think something there's more to this than was ever revealed. Just doesn't seem to add up.

 

[Richard]

....That, plus the fact that the dog didn't bark, makes me think something there's more to this than was ever revealed. Just doesn't seem to add up.

Individual dogs behave differently when it comes to intruders, passersby, or family. Some go nuts with their barking at the drop of a hat. Others don't seem to take notice. It is partly the genetic make up of the particular dog, and partly in how the dog has been conditioned and trained by its owner. If a dog is constantly corrected for barking as a pup, then it may be hesitant to bark at potential intruders later in life.

A few years ago, there was a case in the news where a man's SUV was stolen from a gas station with his Labrador Retriever in the back seat. The man was heartbroken and on TV asking that the thief at least return his dog. A friend of mine, hearing the story, wondered why the guy would even want a dog that did nothing to protect his car. That said, it has always been my opinion that the best security system is to have a good dog.

There was another dog in the news a while back, this one a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. The dog's owners were awakened by noises of a commotion and some barking by the dog. Checking downstairs, the man saw an open window and some burgler tools on the floor. He called police who came to the house, looked about briefly, assumed that the burglar had been scared off, and started to write up their report. Meanwhile, the dog continued to sit facing a closet door, growling now and then. The police asked the owner to hold the dog back, and then opened the closet door, where they found the burgler crouching in fear and begging them to keep the dog away.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Individual dogs behave differently when it comes to intruders, passersby, or family. Some go nuts with their barking at the drop of a hat. Others don't seem to take notice. It is partly the genetic make up of the particular dog, and partly in how the dog has been conditioned and trained by its owner. If a dog is constantly corrected for barking as a pup, then it may be hesitant to bark at potential intruders later in life.

A few years ago, there was a case in the news where a man's SUV was stolen from a gas station with his Labrador Retriever in the back seat. The man was heartbroken and on TV asking that the thief at least return his dog. A friend of mine, hearing the story, wondered why the guy would even want a dog that did nothing to protect his car. That said, it has always been my opinion that the best security system is to have a good dog.

There was another dog in the news a while back, this one a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. The dog's owners were awakened by noises of a commotion and some barking by the dog. Checking downstairs, the man saw an open window and some burgler tools on the floor. He called police who came to the house, looked about briefly, assumed that the burglar had been scared off, and started to write up their report. Meanwhile, the dog continued to sit facing a closet door, growling now and then. The police asked the owner to hold the dog back, and then opened the closet door, where they found the burgler crouching in fear and begging them to keep the dog away.

This was in the newspaper account of the murder:

"The police conducted an extensive investigation and theorized the murderer was familiar with the layout of the Percy estate because the family dog alerted no one to the intrusion. "

That makes me think that the dog usually barked at outsiders. But that could just be a faulty assumption on my part.

 

[rachrach99]

This was in the newspaper account of the murder:

"The police conducted an extensive investigation and theorized the murderer was familiar with the layout of the Percy estate because the family dog alerted no one to the intrusion. "

That makes me think that the dog usually barked at outsiders. But that could just be a faulty assumption on my part.

I agree, that is what I get out of that statement. So, maybe the "intruder" was a regular on the property......

 

[Marilynilpa]

I agree, that is what I get out of that statement. So, maybe the "intruder" was a regular on the property......

That was my thought. It was someone the dog was used to seeing. Does anyone know if this dog normally lived inside the house?

 

[rachrach99]

Does anyone know if and how many people they might have employed at the home.........housekeeper, gardener, ect ?

 

[Marilynilpa]

Does anyone know if and how many people they might have employed at the home.........housekeeper, gardener, ect ?

The "Crime Library" coverage of this murder says"

"The family's two servants, Frederick Millington and Henry Witting, were scrutinized but cleared."

It doesn't make any mention of outside workers, i.e., gardeners, etc.

I have a subscription to NewspaperArchive.com, and when I have a chance I'll do some research on this to see what was reported at the time.

 

[rachrach99]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I have searched NewspaperArchives.com and come up with literally hundreds of articles pertaining to the murder of Valerie Percy. I have read several of those articles, and it appears, at least from the earliest articles, that the police suspected whoever killed Valerie had to know the layout of the house. Also, the timing of when Valerie's stepmother first heard the glass break and when she finally went to Valerie's room raise some questions in my mind. But I'll wait until I've read all the articles, then will comment more on that.

There have been a few suspects in the murder of Valerie, with a couple of people pointing the finger of suspicion on each other.

Of interest to me is the fact that one month after her murder, the police had received almost 1100 tips from the public, none of which turned up any useful information.

I know there are people posting on this thread that know the area where this murder occurred, and know the police in that area. From what I read, there had never been a murder in this area before, and the local police really didn't have any idea how to conduct a murder investigation. I'd like to hear from those "in the know" as to whether you think that is a fair assessment. I know that eventually, other police departments as well as the FBI became involved in this murder investigation, but not until a few weeks after it happened.

I know the Percy family was (and still is, I believe) a prominent family in that area. I wonder if the police would "look the other way" if evidence was uncovered that pointed to a family member committing this murder?

I'll read more of the articles and let you know if I find anything of interest.

 

[JBean]

bumping for cold case discussion
Old case that deserves new attention.

 

[MaryLiz]

Here is an interesting article from last month about a speech given by a former crime reporter. He mentions the Valerie Percy murder and says many homicide detectives think the crime was a personal one, and was committed by someone she knew, and not by someone who intended to rob the house.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2111337,5_1_WA19_DRUMMOND_S1-100319.article


Moderators - Is there any way you can add Valerie Percy's name to the title of the thread so no one starts a new thread if they do a search for her name? TIA

 

[MaryLiz]

Thanks JBean!