SC SC - Jennifer Olson, 19, Hilton Head Island, 30 July 1989

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I had only just moved to the island a few months before this murder occurred. I lived there seven years and saw little else on this murder. I'm surprised that nearly 24 years later, there is even less on the Internet.

Although a few sites claim it is an active investigation and there are suspects, I can't find out anything about this case. I don't even recall any photos of her in the newspapers. I assumed at the time that since this a resort, the publicity would not be good for tourism. Now I wonder why there isn't more information.

Jennifer Olson, age 19, was staying at The Westin Resort with her family while her father attended a conference there. She left the hotel in the early hours of July 30, 1989. She was found around 6 am on the beach, beaten to death and wearing only her bra.

http://www.truecrimereport.com/cold...er=&race=&type=&state=&year=&tcrSubmit=Search

http://archives.savannahnow.com/sav_pdf_archive/text/fr87/B_2311402.pdf

http://www.lowcountrynewspapers.net/archive/node/76509
 
I had only just moved to the island a few months before this murder occurred. I lived there seven years and saw little else on this murder. I'm surprised that nearly 24 years later, there is even less on the Internet.

Although a few sites claim it is an active investigation and there are suspects, I can't find out anything about this case. I don't even recall any photos of her in the newspapers. I assumed at the time that since this a resort, the publicity would not be good for tourism. Now I wonder why there isn't more information.

Jennifer Olson, age 19, was staying at The Westin Resort with her family while her father attended a conference there. She left the hotel in the early hours of July 30, 1989. She was found around 6 am on the beach, beaten to death and wearing only her bra.

http://www.truecrimereport.com/cold...er=&race=&type=&state=&year=&tcrSubmit=Search

http://archives.savannahnow.com/sav_pdf_archive/text/fr87/B_2311402.pdf

http://www.lowcountrynewspapers.net/archive/node/76509

You are certainly right that there is little to be found online about this case.

Jennifer's death was very brutal!

From your link at http://archives.savannahnow.com/sav_pdf_archive/text/fr87/B_2311402.pdf :


...Three hours later, a jogger found her semi-nude
body on the beach, lying in the shallow water of an
outgoing tide. An autopsy showed she had been severely
beaten on the face, head and shoulders with a
blunt object, sexually assaulted and then drowned....

That pdf at the link seems to have the most information. I found it hard to read in some spots (guess I need to enlarge it). I'm not quite clear on why the suspect named Youmans was ruled out -- or was he? Just from what I was able to make out, he did seem a likely candidate.

RIP Jennifer.
 
Thank you for your reply.

http://archives.savannahnow.com/sav_pdf_archive/text/fr87/B_2311402.pdf

The .pdf is difficult to read and appears to be incomplete. Both articles, the murder investigation and the interview with the father, are contined on another page, which is not included in the link.

I agree that Youmans seems a very likely suspect as he was convicted of other rapes and sexual assaults. Based on that, i don't think it's a stretch to suspect he could have murdered her in this way. But I have been unable to locate any further information on him. I suppose that LE "knows" he committed the murder, but has no concrete evidence to convict him. Maybe that is why there is no communication from them reaching out to the public.

I was also unable to locate Jennifer on SSDI. Other than a few newspaper articles quoting the father as saying he has given up hope that her murder will be solved, there is very little information about her or her family.
 
Thank you for your reply.

http://archives.savannahnow.com/sav_pdf_archive/text/fr87/B_2311402.pdf

The .pdf is difficult to read and appears to be incomplete. Both articles, the murder investigation and the interview with the father, are contined on another page, which is not included in the link.

I agree that Youmans seems a very likely suspect as he was convicted of other rapes and sexual assaults. Based on that, i don't think it's a stretch to suspect he could have murdered her in this way. But I have been unable to locate any further information on him. I suppose that LE "knows" he committed the murder, but has no concrete evidence to convict him. Maybe that is why there is no communication from them reaching out to the public.

I was also unable to locate Jennifer on SSDI. Other than a few newspaper articles quoting the father as saying he has given up hope that her murder will be solved, there is very little information about her or her family.

bbm: Thought I might be able to find an obituary, something of that nature, but couldn't.
 
Thanks, again for your post! I also looked for an obit and never found one. It is an old case, though.

I just think it is so sad this young girl was with her family and in a beautiful resort and was so brutally murdered. And all these years later, there is little information about her.

I posted it to let her friends and family know that I remember her murder. I also expected it to be solved by now. I want the SC cold case unit to know her unsolved murder is still alive in the minds of the people.

Is Youmans ruled out? Or like in so many other cases, he did it but it can't be proven or taken to trial? My biggest worry ... Can't find Youmans. Got a 40 yr sentence? What's that worth 20 years ago? Is he out now? Since there aren't any details to sleuth ... Maybe?
 
http://public.doc.state.sc.us/scdc-public/

I thank you WebSleuths!

With this link, I've learned Youmans is still incarcerated in SC. Not much info though on his convictions. Looks like just one with a minor? So a 40-yr sentence for rape, sexual assault and robbery gets him a parole hearing in March 2014. His projected release date is 2018? Can someone help interrupt the info?

Answered one question I've always had ... Jennifer was seen leaving the hotel a few hours before she was found murdered with an unidentified white male. Youmans in his prison photo at around age 40+ is African-American. I doubt that even 20+ years ago he could be mistaken as a white male.

Where's the police sketch of the white male? Not one? Why?
 
I was there that summer and remember hanging out with Jennifer for a few nights before her murder. She was having a summer fling with this guy from NJ, that’s the white guy she was seen with. The cops worked on him pretty hard and determined he wasn’t the one who did it. None of us who had been hanging out around the resort there thought he did either. Way to nice a guy and he pretty much had a complete breakdown when he was brought in by the cops. Pretty sure he was completely lovestruck.

I believe she was getting ready to leave the next day and just wanted to walk the beach til sunrise. Saddest part is she had an identical twin that wasn’t there. I feel so bad for her family :(

I do remember hearing that there was a similar case some time later in Newport News that led LE to think it might be a series, but I was never able to find any details on that. Anyone know?
 

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