MI MI - Laurie Murninghan, 16, Lansing, 9 July 1970

[Richard]

I do not know the name of the officer currently assigned to Lansing Cold Cases. They have a website (link below) which discusses what they do and it lists all their cold cases, including Laurie Murnighan's 1970 murder.

It has been over 50 years now since Laurie was so brutally killed.

Here are some of the other Cold Case Units and organizations in Michigan:

Detroit Police Department
Homicide Section/Cold Case
Sgt. Odell Godbold
(313) 596-1644

Kent Metro Cold Case Team (Grand Rapids)
(616) 632-6123

Michigan Attorney General Cold Case Task Force
AGCriminal@michigan.gov

Michigan State Police
Cold Case Task Force
(517) 336-7782


Here is a link to Lansing's Cold Case Unit website:

Cold Case Unit | Lansing, MI

 

[CastlesBurning]

Maybe Laurie's case will finally be solved...

Lansing police team up with Detroit Crime Commission to create Cold Case Unit | WLNS 6 News

 

[Richard]

Laurie Murninghan, 16
Murdered 9 July 1970

 

[CastlesBurning]

AT&T to give donation to Lansing Police to solve cold-case homicides | WLNS 6 News

 

[CastlesBurning]

Lansing City Council looks for money to hire more cold case staff

 

[Richard]

51 years ago...

Laurie Murninghan, 16, Murdered 9 July 1970 in Lansing, Michigan

 

[tarabull]

Michigan Cold Case: Laurie's Murninghan Murder

Unsolved for over 50 years, the brutal murder of Laurie Murninghan in Michigan still haunts the community. Help bring justice to her family.

witl.com

 

[dotr]

Michigan Cold Case: Laurie's Murninghan Murder

Unsolved for over 50 years, the brutal murder of Laurie Murninghan in Michigan still haunts the community. Help bring justice to her family.

witl.com

From link..

''The Kidnapping of Laurie Murninghan​

According to DementedMittenTours.com, on July 9, 1970, Laurie Murninghan was working part-time at Gallagher's Gifts and Antiques in Lansing, when an armed gunman entered the shop, demanded money, pistol-whipped the owner, and in a last-minute decision, decided to take her hostage. It is believed that the gunman, described as a 'goateed' African American, was between the age of 20-25. According to the New York Times, the hold-up made him $60 and one of the nation's most wanted men.''

Read More: Michigan Cold Case: Laurie's Murninghan Murder | Michigan Cold Case: Laurie's Murninghan Murder

 

[Richard]

From link..

''The Kidnapping of Laurie Murninghan​

According to DementedMittenTours.com, on July 9, 1970, Laurie Murninghan was working part-time at Gallagher's Gifts and Antiques in Lansing, when an armed gunman entered the shop, demanded money, pistol-whipped the owner, and in a last-minute decision, decided to take her hostage. It is believed that the gunman, described as a 'goateed' African American, was between the age of 20-25. According to the New York Times, the hold-up made him $60 and one of the nation's most wanted men.''
View attachment 422664
Read More: Michigan Cold Case: Laurie's Murninghan Murder | Michigan Cold Case: Laurie's Murninghan Murder

This crime took place in July of 1970 - some 53 years ago.

It was reported at the time that his gun discharged when he struck the older woman (store owner) on the head with it. When she fell to the floor, unconscious, he thought that he had killed her and fled, taking Laurie with him.

He took Laurie immediately to a pond in a nearby rural area and shot her in the head with his pistol, possibly to eliminate her as a witness to what he thought was his murder of the store owner. As it turned out, the store owner survived the attack and provided police with the description of this (still unidentified) suspect.

 

[Richard]

Some Links:

UNSOLVED LANSING CRIMES: The Murder of Laurie Murninghan

The murder of the daughter of a former Lansing mayor.....it's another local cold case that has been looked into recently. Click in for the story...

99wfmk.com

Michigan Cold Case: Laurie's Murninghan Murder

Unsolved for over 50 years, the brutal murder of Laurie Murninghan in Michigan still haunts the community. Help bring justice to her family.

99wfmk.com

Buried Cases: Lansing Police Department's lack of Cold Case organization - City Pulse

In the summer of 1970, Laurie Murninghan — the 16-year-old daughter of former Lansing Mayor Max Murninghan — was kidnapped following a botched jewelry store heist at Gallagher’s Gifts and Antiques on the city’s west side.

www.lansingcitypulse.com

Laurie D. Murninghan

Laurie Murninghan, 16, worked in Gallagher’s Gifts and Antiques Shop in Lansing, Ingham County, MI. On July 9, 1970, a light-skinned African American in his 20s purchased a small rug from …

www.delayedjustice.com

Lansing's 67 cold cases each 'a hundred piece puzzle'

Lansing has 67 cold case homicides since 1963, and each are "a hundred piece puzzle."

www.lansingstatejournal.com

Blog

Blog

mja--inc--investigations.webs.com

True Crime

THE MITTEN’S MOST WANTED: True Crime Featurettes *This page is updated regularly. THE MAYOR’S DAUGHTER Usually when the child of a politician is kidnapped, it’s the plot of a bad action…

dementedmittentours.com

 

[Richard]

Laurie Murninghan, 16, Murdered 9 July 1970

In the summer of 1970, 16-year-old Laurie Murninghan, the daughter of Lansing's onetime mayor, Max Murninghan, was at work at a Lansing gift shop.

A man walked in with a gun and demanded money. He struck the store's owner in the head and fired his gun into the ceiling. Police had a theory that the robber thought he shot the owner so he panicked.

The man took $64 in cash from the store and led Murninghan out at gunpoint.

Eleven days later, her body was found in a wooded, swampy area south of Mason. Police said she had been strangled.

Murninghan's killing drew national attention and officials had at one point identified a suspect, but he was never charged. It was an extensive investigation and they even injected the suspect with a so-called "truth serum," a once-accepted practice, to no avail.

The man served prison time in an unrelated case and died before police and prosecutors could make a case in the Murninghan killing, officials have said.

LINK:

Serial killers, unsolved homicides: A look at some of Lansing's infamous cases

The murder of Ricky Holland, the disappearance of Paige Renkoski and two serial killers are among some of Lansing's most infamous cases.

www.lansingstatejournal.com

 

[Richard]

Sketch of the unidentified suspect who abducted and murdered Laurie Murninghan on 9 July 1970.
Click on image to enlarge.

 

[Richard]

In the summer of 1970, Laurie Murninghan — the 16-year-old daughter of former Lansing Mayor Max Murninghan — was kidnapped following a botched jewelry store heist at Gallagher’s Gifts and Antiques on the city’s west side.

Laurie Murnighan’s body was found a week later in a pond near Bath. The case, like so many in Lansing, has never been solved. It’s the vexing part of a trail gone cold. It lends itself to the lawman wisdom that the more time that passes after a homicide, the less likely the chance of a resolution...

LINKS:

Buried Cases: Lansing Police Department's lack of Cold Case organization - City Pulse

In the summer of 1970, Laurie Murninghan — the 16-year-old daughter of former Lansing Mayor Max Murninghan — was kidnapped following a botched jewelry store heist at Gallagher’s Gifts and Antiques on the city’s west side.

www.lansingcitypulse.com

The Trail Went Cold – Episode 273 – Laurie Murninghan – The Trail Went Cold

www.trailwentcold.com