OH OH - Judy Martins, 22, Kent, 24 May 1978

[vermontaigne]

Thanks, dsells516, for your honest response. I assumed as much, since I'm about the same age as you guys.

I wish her body could be found, also. If William Posey is her murderer, her body most likely was dumped near a highway exit ramp. That was his m.o. He confessed last year to one of his abduction/murders and told LE where he dumped the body - near an exit ramp - but due to the passage of time no remains were found.

The morning after her disappearance, Posey drove for no apparent reason to Columbus, OH, so he could have dumped Judy's body anywhere between Kent State and Columbus.

What a sick, perverted man.

It would be interesting to have a detailed outline of Posey's whereabouts. While he confessed to killing Iris Brown in Vermont, the story that he tried to pressure her into selling cocaine and that he strangled her when she refused never made much sense to me, particularly since blood was found in his vehicle that might have been hers. The jumble of locations including Shelburne and Barre never made a lot of sense, either. And assuming Posey did have a penchant for dumping bodies off of interstates, he's gotten extremely lucky that nobody's found one yet. The route he claims to have taken from Burlington to Barre sees a lot of outdoor activity virtually everywhere.

I think it's likely that the drug dealing angle is just a dodge to deflect from his sex predation motives, and that he's done something less casual with the bodies. This is from an FBI publication, February 1980:

 

[K_Sleuth]

This story has haunted me since it happened. I did not know Judy Martins but had friends who did. I lived in Prentice Hall which was the girls dorm across the street from Dunbar Hall, the guys dorm where Judy was last seen. It was the end of Spring Qtr, finals were the following week after Memorial Day weekend. Word traveled quickly thru the dorm that Judy had gone missing. It was as though she *poof* disappeared into thin air. Everybody thought she would turn up somewhere. And nothing has turned up 40+ yrs later.
Judy's dorm was always reported as roughly 300 yes from Dunbar. But it wasn't a straight line. You had to go behind Prentice where it started to slope downward, pass the tennis courts which were lit at night but I don't know how late, walk a sidewalk that had large bushes (lilacs?) to make your way to Engelman. *did something happen here?* And I question that she would walk this path alone at 2.30am. We were pretty conscious of the dangers.
I know it was reported in interviews that witnesses saw here leave a dorm room but did anybody actually see her leave Dunbar and head toward Prentice and ultimately to Engleman?
Since she wasn't reported missing for 2 days, a perp could have a 2 day headstart to get rid of evidence. 1978
KSU police were not equipped to handle missing persons, Kent City Police were small town, Kent State wasn't eager for bad publicity since they were just getting their footing after the 1970 shootings-I think these all combined to make things worse for the investigation.
Judy - You are not forgotten.
Somebody out there knows something.

 

[Anagrace]

This story has haunted me since it happened. I did not know Judy Martins but had friends who did. I lived in Prentice Hall which was the girls dorm across the street from Dunbar Hall, the guys dorm where Judy was last seen. It was the end of Spring Qtr, finals were the following week after Memorial Day weekend. Word traveled quickly thru the dorm that Judy had gone missing. It was as though she *poof* disappeared into thin air. Everybody thought she would turn up somewhere. And nothing has turned up 40+ yrs later.
Judy's dorm was always reported as roughly 300 yes from Dunbar. But it wasn't a straight line. You had to go behind Prentice where it started to slope downward, pass the tennis courts which were lit at night but I don't know how late, walk a sidewalk that had large bushes (lilacs?) to make your way to Engelman. *did something happen here?* And I question that she would walk this path alone at 2.30am. We were pretty conscious of the dangers.
I know it was reported in interviews that witnesses saw here leave a dorm room but did anybody actually see her leave Dunbar and head toward Prentice and

This story has haunted me since it happened. I did not know Judy Martins but had friends who did. I lived in Prentice Hall which was the girls dorm across the street from Dunbar Hall, the guys dorm where Judy was last seen. It was the end of Spring Qtr, finals were the following week after Memorial Day weekend. Word traveled quickly thru the dorm that Judy had gone missing. It was as though she *poof* disappeared into thin air. Everybody thought she would turn up somewhere. And nothing has turned up 40+ yrs later.
Judy's dorm was always reported as roughly 300 yes from Dunbar. But it wasn't a straight line. You had to go behind Prentice where it started to slope downward, pass the tennis courts which were lit at night but I don't know how late, walk a sidewalk that had large bushes (lilacs?) to make your way to Engelman. *did something happen here?* And I question that she would walk this path alone at 2.30am. We were pretty conscious of the dangers.
I know it was reported in interviews that witnesses saw here leave a dorm room but did anybody actually see her leave Dunbar and head toward Prentice and ultimately to Engleman?
Since she wasn't reported missing for 2 days, a perp could have a 2 day headstart to get rid of evidence. 1978
KSU police were not equipped to handle missing persons, Kent City Police were small town, Kent State wasn't eager for bad publicity since they were just getting their footing after the 1970 shootings-I think these all combined to make things worse for the investigation.
Judy - You are not forgotten.
Somebody out there knows something.

ultimately to Engleman?
Since she wasn't reported missing for 2 days, a perp could have a 2 day headstart to get rid of evidence. 1978
KSU police were not equipped to handle missing persons, Kent City Police were small town, Kent State wasn't eager for bad publicity since they were just getting their footing after the 1970 shootings-I think these all combined to make things worse for the investigation.
Judy - You are not forgotten.
Somebody out there knows something.

 

[Anagrace]

The party at Dunbar hall,,,
Ive read quite a few articles on Judy's disappearance and there's very little information on this party. How many people attended the party? Were everyone who did attend Kent State students? Did Judy know everyone who attended the party? Did anyone at the party notice any particular guy or girl focusing their attention on Judy? Did Kent police get the names of every resident who lived at Dunbar and interview each one? When it was said that some from the party saw Judy leave to go to Engleman hall, did they see her leave the room where the party was or the entrance/exit door of the building?
If someone saw her leave the building did they notice if she went left or right around Prentice Hall? Also was anyone standing around in the front of the building as Judy walked out the door and back to her dorm?
Why no information on this party? It seems very odd that all we know is Judy attended this party wearing a wig and glasses to play a joke on a friend at the party. Wouldn't it seem reasonable that she could have been a victim of a stalker/s who was either at the party or who lived at Dunbar? Even could have been someone who lived in one of the nearby dorms that was out and about that early morning and spotted Judy.
I sure do wish there was much more info regarding these questions

 

[LaurieHavens]

Also, does anyone think it could have been Ed Edwards? He committed a double murder in August of 1977 in Norton Ohio and then the next one he is "charged with" is in 1980. Norton is about 20-25 miles from Kent. Just throwing that out there for the more experienced sleuths.

I want to know the same, Nana!

 

[dotr]

Cold Case: Family searches for KSU student 45 years later

On May 24, 1978, Judy Martins went to a party in a Kent State dorm room and was never heard from again. Now on the 45th anniversary of her disappearance, her siblings are hoping someone out there r…

fox8.com

by: Carrie Young . May 24, 2023
''May 24 was like any other Wednesday on the Kent State campus. Judy was goofing around with a friend in a dorm room and even posed for fun photos wearing a red wig. Afterward, she made the five-minute walk from Engleman Hall to Dunbar Hall for a party. What happened that night is not clear, but after 2:30 a.m., no one saw Judy again''

''For me, I want the closure,” said Martins. “Moreso for my parents. We’re not ‘an eye for an eye’ type people.”

“We’re at the point where we don’t care about prosecution or anything else. All we want to know is where she is and what happened to her,” Baer said.


If you know anything about Judy Martins’ disappearance or know anything that may have happened the night of May 24, 1978, call the U.S. Marshals Tipline: 1-866-492-6833. Tips can remain anonymous.''

Judy Martins – The Charley Project

• Missing Since05/24/1978
• Missing FromKent, Ohio
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• SexFemale
• RaceWhite
• Date of Birth07/15/1955 (67)
• Age22 years old
• Height and Weight5'4, 120 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA brown and yellow plaid gauze blouse, a beige trench coat, blue denim culottes, a brown belt, a ring on her right index finger, large sunglasses and possibly a curly red Halloween wig and brown boots. Carrying a white imitation leather bag. A photo of Martins in the curly red wig is posted with this case summary.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Black hair, hazel eyes. Martins wears eyeglasses or contact lenses; her eyeglasses were left behind in her room. She has had her wisdom teeth removed.

Details of Disappearance​

Martins was last seen at the Kent State University campus in Kent, Ohio on May 24, 1978. She was a junior at the college that year, majoring in art and minoring in women's studies. She was a good student and was hoping to become a therapist. She last seen walking from her friends' dormitory building, Dunbar Hall, to her own dormitory, Engleman Hall, at 2:00 a.m.

The two buildings were only about 300 yards apart, but authorities do not believe Martins ever returned to her own room at Engleman Hall. She has never been heard from again.

Martins didn't have a roommate, so no one missed her until the following evening. It wasn't until two days after she was last seen that campus officials notified her parents she was missing. The initial investigation into her disappearance was hampered by the fact that most of the students had left for the Memorial Day Weekend; Martins herself had planned a trip to New York with two friends.

Martins is not believed to have left of her own accord, as she was apparently happy and involved in campus life in 1978, and none of her loved ones believed she would have run away. She was a dormitory advisor as well as a volunteer counselor at the campus's Pregnancy Information Center.

All of her personal belongings, including her eyeglasses, makeup, clothing and money, were left behind in her dormitory room. It's uncharacteristic of Martins to go anywhere without her glasses or makeup. She vanished a week before spring semester final exams. Martins broke up with her boyfriend of five years not long before her disappearance, but they remained on friendly terms.

After her disappearance, Martins's parents got a tip that she was working as a prostitute in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Martins's brother was able to locate the prostitute and stated she was not his sister, although the woman did bear a striking resemblance to Martins. Martins's boyfriend passed a polygraph about her disappearance, and her family doesn't believe he was involved.

William John Posey Jr. was considered a possible suspect in Martins's disappearance. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. In 1978, he lived in an apartment about ten minutes' drive from the Kent State University campus. He was using the name John T. Scorpione at the time.

In 1980, Posey pleaded guilty to the abduction and murder of an Illinois woman. He was convicted of kidnapping Iris Brown in 1981. Brown, who disappeared in 1976, has never been located. In 2008, Posey admitted he had murdered her. He never faced charges in Martins's case, but is considered a person of interest due to his criminal history and his proximity to where she disappeared.''

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Martins, circa 1978; Martins in the wig she may have been wearing at the time of her disappearance; William Posey, circa 1970

 

[MissingMargee]

I want to know the same, Nana!

Doesn’t seem to fit his mo.