The Murder of Kathy Lynn Beatty

[4SAM]

interesting story, yet sad. I do have a question. WHen the father of the boy that was sleeping in the camper could not locate his son, did they ever determine where he was. Also, someone mentioned that they saw 2 boys carrying a girl and described them. Could the description be of the 2 boys that were supposed to be in the camper?

 

[Richard]

interesting story, yet sad. I do have a question. WHen the father of the boy that was sleeping in the camper could not locate his son, did they ever determine where he was. Also, someone mentioned that they saw 2 boys carrying a girl and described them. Could the description be of the 2 boys that were supposed to be in the camper?

Excellent question. I do not know the answer. Because the boys associated with the camper were juveniles, their names were not mentioned in the press at the time.

The story about someone seeing two boys allegedly carrying a girl across the road came out many years after Kathy's murder. I am sure that the police checked out the story to the extent that they could, but I do not know if they tried to match any possible description to persons who were around in July 1975. I would think that they probably spent more time trying to determine the validity and veracity of the report.

Personally, I wonder how anyone could see and describe two persons carrying a body after dark. And I also wonder why it would take a person so many years to come forward. It would be one thing, maybe, if the witness knew the persons involved and did not want to tell on them - but quite another thing if they did not know them and were only describing strangers seen from a distance.

 

[Richard]

I started this thread about Kathy Lynn Beatty and placed it here in the topic about the Lyon Sisters because I felt that the two cases were connected. They occurred only about four miles apart and only four months apart in time.

There are a number of other similarities between the two cases as well.

Kathy is not missing, so she does not have a thread in the "Missing in the 70's" topic. And her case is not found in such websites as Doenet.

Although Kathy Beatty's case (like the Lyon case) has always been an open and active investigation, I also posted her thread here on Websleuths under the Cold Case files. So one might look there for further information and discussion.

LINK:

MD MD - Kathy Lynn Beatty, age 15, Aspen Hill, July 1975 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[4SAM]

Could the police now that the boys are older go and interview them about that night?

 

[Richard]

Could the police now that the boys are older go and interview them about that night?

It is certainly possible that the police could seek out and question the two boys of the camper - and any of the other youths that they identified and questioned in the past.

Knowing how thorough some of the past cold case officers were, I would think that they may have done just that. But I cannot say for certain, since it is an ongoing investigation, and MCP tends to hold all evidence and information pretty close.

Like the Lyon case, most of the eyewitnesses were juveniles at the time. We know that the kids who saw and knew Kathy were not very forthcoming with information, and many of those who did talk to police, refused to take lie detector tests. But being kids, with the many concerns and problems that go along with being a kid, one can only speculate why they might have been evasive.

Perhaps they were more afraid of having their parents know that they were somewhere that they weren't supposed to be, or doing something they weren't supposed to be doing - whether or not they knew anything about Kathy or the attack on her.

I agree that locating these potential eyewitnesses today and questioning them might be fruitful - if only to rule something or someone out. Their perspectives today as adults in their 50's certainly would be different their perspectives as young teens.

My gut feeling is that if Kathy's attack/murder had been something done by a group of kids or by one, with others witnessing, someone would have come forward by now. Two can keep a secret only if one of them is dead.

I personally feel that it is much more likely that an older, experienced child molester/killer committed this crime and left her for dead in an area close to her home so that neighborhood kids or residents might be blamed for it.

 

[Richard]

From website titled: Crime Problems - Aspen Hill, Maryland, USA. Note that Websleuths is linked and commented upon.

------------------------------------

The Unsolved Death of Kathy Lynn Beatty

The Police Investigation

"On July 25,1975, 15-year-old Kathy Beatty was found unconscious in a wooded area in the rear of the Kmart department store located at Georgia Avenue and Connecticut Avenue in Aspen Hill, Maryland. The hospital examination revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and hit on the head with a blunt instrument. Kathy never regained consciousness and died on August 8, 1975.(Montgomery County Department of Police "Cold Case" website, downloaded 2008 May 26)". ...

... this case is still unsolved, although the Cold Case website states that two witnesses claim that they saw two white males, mid to late teens, crossing Georgia Avenue carrying a female eastward towards the 7-11 store and continuing onward towards a wooded area used by teenagers as a "party place".

Circumstances

July 25, 1975, was a Friday morning; the night that Kathy was last seen alive was a Thursday. The popular band "Yes" was touring and the concert was a "must-see" for most of the neighborhood's teens and young adults. Many, if not most, of Kathy Beatty's peers attended the concert at the Capital Centre in Largo, Maryland. Thus, those who attended and were seen and remembered by fellow attendees had an alibi.

Aftermath

Prior to this event, Aspen Hill had been mostly regarded as an all-American low-crime outer suburb where people left their doors unlocked and didn't worry much if the kids were out most of the night. This death, characterized as a murder by a suspect (or suspects) as yet to be identified and presumably still at large, cast a shadow over the neighborhood, one which seems only to deepen as time goes on. As of November 2010, we are unaware of any significant new leads in the case. As is typical in such investigations, very little information has been released to the public at large.

Cold Case Activity

This investigation is ongoing. Please see the Kathy Beatty Investigation website. Considerable discussion has been ongoing over the years at the "WebSleuths" discussion forum on the Beatty case. While many of these "websleuths" have their own various suggestions about likely suspects -- usually notorious serial killers or serial rapists with similar tastes in victims or similar methods of operations -- the professional investigators seem less than fully convinced. It is widely believed that the professional investigators attribute this to someone either frequenting the community, or actually residing here or very nearby. More discussion has occurred over time among those who lived here at the time....

LINK:

http://www.aspenhillnet.net/mediawi...blems#The_Unsolved_Death_of_Kathy_Lynn_Beatty

 

[Richard]

This month will mark the 39 year anniversary of the attack on Kathy Lynn Beatty. Her murder remains unsolved.

 

[Richard]

Today marks 39 years since Kathy was found by her sister in a trash strewn field near the Aspen Hill K-Mart (corner of Georgia and Connecticut Avenues). That was on Friday, 25 July 1975.She was unconcious and barely alive. Rushed to the hospital, she died 12 days later of her injuries without regaining conciousness.

 

[dotr]

Today marks 39 years since Kathy was found by her sister in a trash strewn field near the Aspen Hill K-Mart (corner of Georgia and Connecticut Avenues). That was on Friday, 25 July 1975.She was unconcious and barely alive. Rushed to the hospital, she died 12 days later of her injuries without regaining conciousness.

Wondering if the killer/s thought Kathy was dead when she was dumped, or could the perp have a skewed moral concern about out and out murdering someone, if that makes any sense?
The reason I wonder is because of the Sharron Prior case in Montreal, she had also been left alive (barely), but died of her injuries.

As for Kathy, poor girl to have her life ended like that on the Friday of a lovely summer's night, she should have been enjoying the time of her life. imo

 

[Richard]

It is hard to tell what the intent of her killer was, but my feeling is that he thought that she was dead when he left her in that field. He was probably pretty worried if/when he learned that she was still alive and in the hospital.

 

[Richard]

Some similarities between two cases...

Kathy's case appears here in the Lyon Sisters featured case because of the possibility that the two are connected. Here are a few of the similarities:

- They occurred only four months apart in time (25 March 1975 for the Lyon Sisters' disappearance, and 24 July 1975 for the attack on Kathy). Also, they occurred only four miles apart in distance.

- Regarding victim description;
Sheila and Katherine Lyon were days away from turning 13 and 11 respectively. Both
had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Kathy was 14 years old. She had long light brown hair.

- Sheila and Katherine had recently been walking alone from their residential neighborhood to and from a shopping center (Wheaton Plaza). They may have been abducted in a parking lot, or from a residential street.

- Kathy was reportedly walking alone in her residential neighborhood and was found unconscious and beaten in a field adjacent to the K-Mart parking lot. She may have been walking to the K-Mart from her home.

- Sheila and Katherine went missing on the afternoon of Tuesday, 25 March 1975 - two days prior to the full moon.

- Kathy Lynn Beatty was abducted and attacked in the early evening of Thursday, 24 July 1975, one day after the full moon.

- Both cases have some indication that the perpetrator may have had access to either a vehicle or a house. (Logic in the case of the Lyon girls, presence of a key ring with vehicle and house key in Beatty case).

- In both cases, most of the eyewitnesses who claimed to see the victims were other kids close to their ages.

- Difference is that Kathy was found within hours of her attack, the Lyon Sisters disappeared without a trace.

- Both cases have remained unsolved for 39 years.

 

[Motherof5]

Some similarities between two cases...

Kathy's case appears here in the Lyon Sisters featured case because of the possibility that the two are connected. Here are a few of the similarities:

- They occurred only four months apart in time (25 March 1975 for the Lyon Sisters' disappearance, and 24 July 1975 for the attack on Kathy). Also, they occurred only four miles apart in distance.

- Regarding victim description;
Sheila and Katherine Lyon were days away from turning 13 and 11 respectively. Both
had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Kathy was 14 years old. She had long light brown hair.

- Sheila and Katherine had recently been walking alone from their residential neighborhood to and from a shopping center (Wheaton Plaza). They may have been abducted in a parking lot, or from a residential street.

- Kathy was reportedly walking alone in her residential neighborhood and was found unconscious and beaten in a field adjacent to the K-Mart parking lot. She may have been walking to the K-Mart from her home.

- Sheila and Katherine went missing on the afternoon of Tuesday, 25 March 1975 - two days prior to the full moon.

- Kathy Lynn Beatty was abducted and attacked in the early evening of Thursday, 24 July 1975, one day after the full moon.

- Both cases have some indication that the perpetrator may have had access to either a vehicle or a house. (Logic in the case of the Lyon girls, presence of a key ring with vehicle and house key in Beatty case).

- In both cases, most of the eyewitnesses who claimed to see the victims were other kids close to their ages.

- Difference is that Kathy was found within hours of her attack, the Lyon Sisters disappeared without a trace.

- Both cases have remained unsolved for 39 years.

Has anyone heard anything new on Kathy's case? I wonder if LE is considering the Welch's in Kathy's case and I still wonder about the keys.


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[helpfulcharlie]

I wonder about the keys as well. If LE is convinced Fred Howard Coffee is the perpetrator, we'll be lucky if the case is ever closed. I don't see him talking. If on the other hand they believe one or more of the friends who saw her at the school are responsible, somebody might have a crisis of conscience one day and do the right thing. If I had access to that information, I would be checking up on those people every year. Everyone has stressors in their lives from time to time, and you just never know what might bring them over the edge.

 

[Motherof5]

I wonder about the keys as well. If LE is convinced Fred Howard Coffee is the perpetrator, we'll be lucky if the case is ever closed. I don't see him talking. If on the other hand they believe one or more of the friends who saw her at the school are responsible, somebody might have a crisis of conscience one day and do the right thing. If I had access to that information, I would be checking up on those people every year. Everyone has stressors in their lives from time to time, and you just never know what might bring them over the edge.

I agree. I am on the fence. I have never been able to decide if I think it was kids around her age or an adult like Fred C.


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[helpfulcharlie]

I agree. I am on the fence. I have never been able to decide if I think it was kids around her age or an adult like Fred C.

The "coincidence" of Fred C pulling his disappearing act within a week is pretty damning, but so is the circumstance of the friends refusing a polygraph.

 

[Motherof5]

The "coincidence" of Fred C pulling his disappearing act within a week is pretty damning, but so is the circumstance of the friends refusing a polygraph.

Exactly. Where Kathy was found wasn't really Fred's style but that doesn't mean that he didn't do it.


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[scriptgirl]

I am torn. There is really a good case to be made for a peer to have killed her or Fred. Is her mom still alive?

 

[Richard]

I am torn. There is really a good case to be made for a peer to have killed her or Fred. Is her mom still alive?

Yes, her mother and sister are still living.

Initially, police seemed to think that it was a kid or kids who killed Kathy. At least that is what a feature story in the newspaper seemed to indicate about 6 months after her death.

In 1987, Police considered Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. as a potential suspect. He only came to their attention then because of a high profile trial in which he was charged with the murder of a 10 year old girl in North Carolina.

My feeling is that Kathy was murdered by someone who was particularly sadistic, brutal, and deliberate in his attack on her. It does not seem to be the work of a child or teen ager, but rather that of someone more practiced and desensitized to killing.

Coffey worked at Vitro Laboratories from April through July in 1975. It was located immediately across Georgia Ave from the K-Mart where Kathy was found.

 

[simplifymylife2014]

Yes, her mother and sister are still living.

Initially, police seemed to think that it was a kid or kids who killed Kathy. At least that is what a feature story in the newspaper seemed to indicate about 6 months after her death.

In 1987, Police considered Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. as a potential suspect. He only came to their attention then because of a high profile trial in which he was charged with the murder of a 10 year old girl in North Carolina.

My feeling is that Kathy was murdered by someone who was particularly sadistic, brutal, and deliberate in his attack on her. It does not seem to be the work of a child or teen ager, but rather that of someone more practiced and desensitized to killing.

Coffey worked at Vitro Laboratories from April through July in 1975. It was located immediately across Georgia Ave from the K-Mart where Kathy was found.

Richard, has DeBardeleben ever been looked into regarding this case?
When possible connections have died like DeBardeleben, how does that work?
Does LE still try to investigate and determine?

 

[Richard]

I am not sure whether or not DeBardeleben was considered as a potential suspect in this case. I believe that MCP did consider him in their investigation of the Lyon case.

There have actually been some cold cases solved by MCP after the prime suspect died. Sometimes DNA matches are made which close a case or at least bring some answers.