US police successfully identify a woman who was murdered in 1978

In 1978done exactly 45 years oldthe police Massachusetts He stumbled upon a crime he couldn’t solve for decades. Until now.

It is Patricia Ann Tucker which was known as “Granby’s Daughter” referring to the town about 12 miles north of Springfield where his body was found.

Through “old-fashioned police work” and with the help of advanced forensic genetic genealogythe first deputy prosecutor, Steven Gagné, was delighted to announce this progress in the case at a press conference in the last hours.

On November 15, 1978, local authorities found Tucker’s skeletal remains among leaves in a wooded area near a logging road in Granby, about 80 miles west of Boston. As the autopsy revealed at the time, he died of a gunshot wound to the head, precisely to the left temple.

Along with this, officers were able to determine that the body had been “out in the open for several months”Therefore, they concluded that his death must have occurred around the month of June. Moreover, they managed to conclude that it was a woman between the ages of 19 and 27, although they were never able to find her identity.

His body was buried under a white cross, and years later it was replaced by an unnamed headstone.

Despite the passage of time, the police never gave up on this case and periodically checked the databases of missing persons, without success.

However, a discovery in recent months has turned the research around and pointed them in the right direction.

Forensics succeeded in obtaining a biological sample among his remainswhich was sent in March 2022 to othrauma specialized laboratory in Texas that has already helped solve other open cases, detailed the Northwestern District Attorney, David Sullivan.

Finally, on January 23, “the great opportunity researchers have been waiting for for decades finally arrived,” Gagné said. Scientists had found a relative of the wife who lived in Maryland and whose genetic matches suggested it might be his half-sister.

This clue was immediately put forward and, a few days later, the police were able to verify that it was indeed his relative and that he had an aunt – mother of two children – who had disappeared in the 1970s.

They managed to find one of them, Matthew Dalethanks to the fact that he had previously uploaded his DNA to the Ancestory site and they confirmed that he was the son of the unidentified woman thanks to a 100% genetic test match. His death occurred when he was only 5 years old.

“It is advances in forensic science and, in particular, in forensic genetic genealogy that have provided a new source of hope in identifying the victim who for decades was simply known as name of ‘The Granby Girl,'” he said after encountering the event. the first deputy prosecutor.

For his part, Dale was grateful for the police action and released a statement through the district attorney’s office in which he stressed that the officers “never gave up on her.”

“First, I want to thank everyone who tried to identify my mother, especially the community of Granby. », continued and concluded: “It’s a lot to process but at least now I have answers, after 44 years. Hopefully the shutdown can start now.”

Although this is a significant step forward in the cause, it has yet to be determined who was behind the death of the young woman, who died at the age of 28.

The prosecutor noted that investigators were able to determine that Tucker was married to Gerald Colman at the time of his death. They both lived on the eastern shore of the lake. Pocotopaug In East Hampton, Connecticut. At the time of the crime Coleman did not report her missing..

He was later arrested and sent to state prison after being convicted of rape, indecent assault and assault with a dangerous weapon. He died there in 1966.

“Now that we know Patricia’s identity and who she was married to at the time of her disappearance”, her husband has come to be seen as “a person of great interest”.noted Gagne.

Anyway, Tucker she had been married two other times in the past, so other theories are not ruled out.

“There may be people who know something about one of them that could help move this investigation forward,” he concluded, thanking anyone with information that could be useful for their collaboration. .

(With AP information)

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