CA Nancy Bellannack, 27, murdered 25 October 1970, Sacramento, California

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Victim: Nancy Bennallack
Location: Sacramento County
Date of Occurrence: October 25, 1970

Nancy Bennallack was a 27 year old court reporter in Sacramento County. Nancy lived alone in an upstairs apartment at Arden Way and Bell Avenue. Nancy was last seen alive by her fiancé on 10-25-1970 at approximately 11:30p.m. When Nancy did not show up for work the following morning, Nancy's co-worker telephoned her son to check on Nancy. The friend's son went to the apartment manager for assistance and he used a pass key to unlock the front door. Nancy was found murdered in her apartment.

LINKS:

47 years later, Nancy Bennallack's murder remains unsolved

After 46 Years, Bride-to-Be Murders Remain Unsolved

UNSOLVED CALIFORNIA: Retired Sacramento Sheriff's detective returns to solve cold cases
 
Last edited:
About 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 25, 1970, Bennallack, then 27, and her fiance returned to her apartment after a night out. Her fiance returned to his home later that night. The following day, Bennallack did not show up for work. Her co-worker called her son and asked him to check on Nancy. With the help of the apartment manager, the co-worker’s son opened up Bennallack’s apartment and found her murdered.

“He did stab her numerous times. He cut her neck, almost decapitating her,” retired Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Michaela Links said. “There appears to be no sexual assault.”

The suspect cut himself during the assault, Links said. Deputies have a DNA profile on the person who killed Bennallack and the DNA has been in the state and national databases for years.

Deputies found similarities to a case that happened earlier that year – Judith Hakari’s murder. Both women were around the same age and lived less than a mile from each other. They were both soon to be married. Deputies have not found a connection linking their cases together other than those similarities.

"If anybody remembers these cases or was around during the time. It would be nice to get information from people that they thought was important at the time, but were just kind of afraid to come forward," Links said.

If you have any information regarding Brooks' murder, please call 916-874-8477.
 

rbbm.https://www.kcra.com/article/oldest-sacramento-county-cold-case-solved/40862241​

''Davis lived near Bennallack in the same apartment complex

“In one month of Nancy’s murder, the sheriff’s office interviewed over 500 people,” Schubert said. Davis and his roommate were included in those interviews, but both alibied each other, she said.

Davis, who was 27 years old at the time, had lived in apartment 23, while Bennallack lived in apartment 17. Investigators believe Davis could see across the pool into her apartment, which could have led to the motivation behind her murder.

“Clearly, he intended to do what he did that day,” Links said. “This man put masking tape over every one of his fingers, I guess gloves weren’t that easy to find those days to conceal his fingerprints. Were he alive, I think we’re talking premeditated murder.”


Links said Davis had no previous violent felony convictions but did have a DUI arrest.''
 

rbbm.https://www.kcra.com/article/oldest-sacramento-county-cold-case-solved/40862241​

''Davis lived near Bennallack in the same apartment complex

“In one month of Nancy’s murder, the sheriff’s office interviewed over 500 people,” Schubert said. Davis and his roommate were included in those interviews, but both alibied each other, she said.

Davis, who was 27 years old at the time, had lived in apartment 23, while Bennallack lived in apartment 17. Investigators believe Davis could see across the pool into her apartment, which could have led to the motivation behind her murder.

“Clearly, he intended to do what he did that day,” Links said. “This man put masking tape over every one of his fingers, I guess gloves weren’t that easy to find those days to conceal his fingerprints. Were he alive, I think we’re talking premeditated murder.”


Links said Davis had no previous violent felony convictions but did have a DUI arrest.''
:( he was right there the whole time.
 
rbbm. Lengthy article..

Bennallack, 28, was killed in her Sacramento apartment on Oct. 26, 1970, by a man later identified as Richard John Davis. By the time investigators solved the crime, Davis had died — the result of alcoholism — in 1997.''

''According to authorities and Linda Cox, both Davis and his roommate were interviewed within a month of the murder, each providing an alibi for the other.''

''Davis had covered his fingertips with tape to prevent any prints from being left, a sign that the murder was premeditated. Having lived across the apartment complex from Bennallack, Davis had access to her comings and goings. On the night of her death, he climbed up into her apartment under cover of darkness where the door was slightly ajar to accommodate Nancy’s cat, said Links and Linda Cox.

“(The original detectives) did a good job processing the scene,” Links said. “He stabbed her repeatedly and he cut himself and left the trail down from her balcony and into the parking lot. All those years they thought he must have got in a car. They did interview everyone in the apartment complex and so that was the evidence we had.”

The blood, however, would one day come in handy for investigators.''

“The way (Links) solved it is that she found his roommate, who doesn’t remember why the guy moved in with him or how he met him. But the (killer) had got a divorce and his ex-wife had his baby, a little girl. He never met her, and she never met him.”

''Had Links not found Davis’ roommate, she wouldn’t have connected with Davis’ daughter, who is now in her 50s and was “absolutely shocked.” The daughter didn’t want anyone to contact her, but gave her DNA to help the families and investigators solve the case.''

''Micki is the star of this show. She is an amazing woman. She was a police officer and been put through the rings. She was on the ground floor of the DNA research and techniques they use.”

The Coxes extend their gratitude to the Sacramento Police Department, who they say were supportive and key in keeping Nancy’s memory alive and the investigation from being overlooked.''
 

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