A grisly double homicide still haunts the small Cape Cod community of East Falmouth. Updated on: November 19, 2017 / 1:50 AM "There was no evidence of the indications of rape," he says. The three of them had a relationship of sorts, with Ava at its center. During the winter of 2002, the quiet Cape Cod community of Truro was rocked, when a former New York City fashion writer was found murdered inside her home. ", But reporter Eric Williams has an opinion on this move. Costa's life and crimes continue to fascinate. Related: Weepy Voiced Killer: The Serial Murder Spree of Paul Michael Stephani. She would be proved wrong. Three years following her disappearance, her remains were discovered a few miles from the pond. The cause of death was determined at the time to be a blow to the head and is estimated to have occurred several weeks prior. He turned a small patch of land into a garden of horrors. An especially easy target, he says, because Christopher McCowen literally wasn't smart enough to defend himself. "Surprisingly, you know, I knew the guy who found the body. And that's the defense's explanation for the damning DNA evidence: that Christa Worthington voluntarily had sex with McCowan, probably that Thursday, his day for picking up the trash, and that later, someone else came along and killed her. Guy Rockwell Muldavin, born in 1923, was believed to have married Ruth Marie Terry in 1974. As the brutal cold case murder of Swedish au pair Karina Holmer stretches into its 25th year of remaining unsolved, Boston police continue to seek new leads. Provincetown, at the far tip of Cape Cod, would seem a perfect place to spend a summer day. How did it go down?" And he said 'No worse.' "Tim Arnold was one of the few men under the age of, you know, 70 or whatever, in Truro year round," says Christa's friend Steve Radlauer. The so-called "Golden Age of Serial Murder" lasted from 1970 to 1999. He then called 911: Operator: 911, this call is recorded. I mean, they've got no chance. According to The Lineup, the bodies had been cut up and the pieces buried separately. "He was using Percocet that day, he was using marijuana that day," George says. Jackett says he felt just disbelief and that the crime just seemed so senseless. "The Christa I knew was a person of contradiction. One local cop was quoted as saying "The press is bad, but the tourists are even worse.". Unable to prove otherwise, the police went no further in their investigation of Costa. The Grafton girl disappeared from a Sturbridge cottage she and her family were vacationing at on Aug. 5, 1993. Now, Costas garden of horrors is said to be overgrown. Even author Stephen Kings son, Joe Hill, got involved in theorizing about the Lady of the Dunes. Rodman recalls that in 1969 Costa suddenly disappeared and no one would tell her where he'd gone. In the wintertime, Cape Cod can feel like the end of the world and it's the only world 56-year-old fishing warden Tony Jackett ever really has known. "We were just going to have to live with the fact that the perception of my being a suspect is going to stay.". Fire crews responding to a report of a blaze at 8 Hardings Way in Truro around 11:30 p.m. learned a home had just exploded, according to Truro Fire Chief Tim Collins. Which makes Antone Charles Costa, usually known as Tony, ahead of his time: He killed at least two and probably eight women between 1966 and 1969. she remembers. The Northwestern District Attorneys Office identified the man shot and killed outside of Anthonys Gentlemens Club on Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, as Jean Carlos Bones-Colon, 25, of Holyoke. But he doesn't want to bring himself to admit that he killed her. Some of the cases reappear on anniversaries, gathering headlines with pleas from friends and family for leads and tips in search of finding long sought-after justice. Clark died the following day from wounds she suffered in the shooting. Eric Williams, who has covered the case from day one, says while replacing the juror confused things, in the end he's confident in the jury's decision. Cold cases: Local unsolved murders Wanda Reine - March 1971 The wife of Falmouth trucker Melvin Reine, Wanda, disappears. During his 30 years with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office, O'Keefe has tried dozens of murder cases. I'm sure she's dead. The novel, titled "Resurrection," introduces us to a mysterious friend Costa calls "Carl." And he was clever enough, the state argues, to concoct a story blaming someone else, his friend Jeremy Frazier, who appeared uncomfortable the moment he took the stand. The most surprising thing about serial killers is just how many of them there have been. But George says, getting the jury to believe that could be a problem, because his client is being tried in lily white Cape Cod. One twin murdered, the other abducted, and the lead detective is missing while on the killer's trail. Episodes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and strange phenomena captivated audiences. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. Want more true crime? O'Keefe argues, saying Frazier had nothing to do with the murder. "Now when they found the DNA, for 39 months you will hear they were looking to speak to Christa's last lover," George said in court. (Jeanette DeForge/Republican staff). Even after the verdict, Bob George refuses to give up. First, as reported by The Lineup, Costa was driving to California when he picked up two women Bonnie Williams and Diane Federoff and offered to take them to Pennsylvania on his way. Meanwhile, the state crime lab was hopelessly backed up. He was held without bail. He later died at UMass Memorial Medical Center. "Chris wants to explain, Chris regrets . As noted by author Marc Leeds, Vonnegut's daughter Edith had spent a "crazy summer" in Provincetown and knew Costa very wellshe had even turned down his invitation to see his secret garden. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. And if we so chose we will turn your life inside out,'" Amato testified. The death was officially ruled a suicide, but as The New York Post notes many people question that conclusion and speculate that Costa was murdered by his fellow inmates. According to authors Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan, Costa's lawyer, Maurice Goldman, was horrified when his client showed him the novel and warned him not to show it to anyonebut Costa had already passed the manuscript around to several inmates and even submitted it to publisher Houghton Mifflin. In May 1968, according to The New York Post, a woman named Sydney Monzon was seen getting into Costa's car shortly before she vanished. Murderpedia states that the remains bore human teeth marks, and the coroner saw signs indicating possible necrophilia. Help us speak for these souls, who can no longer speak for themselves, said Col.Christopher Mason of the Massachusetts State Police, in a video that shows each of the playing cards. Terrys DNA was compared to other samples, creating a family tree that grew narrower and narrower until a close relative was found last week. The show will run through May 11. According to authors Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan, people who knew Costa believed he wasn't the sort of person to ever take his own life. Costa's story is that two of his alleged victims died of drug overdoses while partying with Carl, and Carlnot Costashot the other two victims. The public radio show was aimed at older residents and handled "topics such as cuts in Social Security, Alzheimer's disease and feelings about old people having sex.". He even helped them bring in their luggage. "Kind of like being in a dark tunnel and wondering if you'll ever see the light again.". Ruth Marie Terry, known for decades as the "Lady of the Dunes" unsolved Cape Cod murder victim, was identified in October 2022. (Photo from Google Maps). During closing arguments, he said, "It's based on an assumption -- a false assumption -- that a Vassar-educated, 46-year-old world-traveling wealthy heiress could not possibly have had consensual sex with a black, uneducated, troubled, garbage man.". In a phone call with him, she was taped criticizing the police and there's concern about bias. The two women had lived in the same guest house as Costa, and as Murderpedia explains, Costa was already a suspect in the earlier disappearance of two other local women, Susan Perry and Sydney Monzon. I dont believe this is a twist and turn who did it situation, Smiths mother, Jeanne Smith said in an interview with MassLive in 2016. Jackett says Christa's pregnancy came as a total surprise. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. I don't know how much of it is actually coming from Chris McCowen's mouth or how much of it is coming from the police investigation. Tweet. "It's DNA of an unknown male that's consistent with someone having had sexual relations and it's that DNA we seek to match," explains District Attorney Michael O'Keefe. "He sees Christa lying on the floor in a sort of a kitchen hallway area and he sees Ava near her mother's body," Williams explains. He hesitated and he said there's a child, and I said 'You're kidding,'" she recalls. Tony Costa was born in 1944. His theory catapulted the case back into the spotlight, turning the Lady of the Dunes into one of true crimes best-known unsolved cases. Holly and her brother had traveled down the road to see a litter of puppies, but her brother later returned without her. The same conclusion was reached by famed true crime writer Ann Rule, who wrote about the Muldavin case in her 2007 book Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder. Rule, unknowingly, was the first to report on Muldavins marriage to Terry, noting the man had married a woman named Teri in Washoe County, Nevada before slipping out of the public eye. There are so many unsolved cases in the city of Springfield. Of course I wanted a not guilty you know, my belief in McCowan's innocence is what drove me. Once inside, the responders found the brutalized bodies of four teenage girls-Amy Ayers, Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison and Eliza Thomas. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Simpson tried to cash in on his horrific alleged crimes with "If I Did It," Tony Costa, a.k.a. She is never seen again. The cards were distributed by state police, the Department of Corrections, and district attorneys. Jackett was also getting used to another reality. According to authors Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan, Costa referred to this spot as his "secret garden" and used it to grow marijuana plants. Vonnegut had more than just sensational interest in the story, though. "I just think it's a case about reasonable doubt. An entire American colony disappears completely, with only mysterious tree carvings as evidence. Police say that's when his story changed. "She was someone very different from the people that I knew," Jackett remembers. 23-year-old Darrell Jenkins was shot and killed in front of his home on Kensington Avenue in Springfield on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Steph Curry killed off the Kings with a smile, On an island of resorts, this Hawaii hotel is the budget option. As Vonnegut noted, Who says chivalry is dead? Costas room at the boarding house was searched after his arrest, and a rope with red stains on it was discovered in the closet. Another theory for why Costa's fellow criminals would go to the trouble of murdering him could be the bizarre "factual novel" he wrote detailing his version of how the crimes were committed, which may have offended the other prisoners. In 1974 a still-unidentified body was discovered in the dunes of Cape Cod. State Police have partnered with the stateDepartment of Correction and district attorneyto create a deck of playing cards that aim to help police gain information about unsolved murders and missing persons. When questioned, Costa claimed Monzon had simply run away to Europe. Terrys first marriage didnt last. No one has ever been charged in connection with any of the deaths. More than 200,000 unsolved cases have gone cold since 1980. About 80% of all known serial killers operated during that period. It's usually up to the authorities to reassure citizens that the situation is under control and to ensure that accurate information is given out. Tony, as he was known to friends and family, began showing signs of predatory violence at the age of 16, according to a Murderpedia entry that references Michael Newton's Hunting Humans: An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers. While Tim Arnold may have been at the top of the suspect list, early on, Ava's father, Tony Jackett, wasn't far behind. Susan Jackett says she didn't have a clue her husband had fathered Ava. What set the Cape Cod Vampire apart from other serial killers was his brutality. The Lineup notes that Costa got married in 1963, and eventually had three children with his wife, Avis. In December: Boston man charged with murder in Hyannis shooting. Census, death and marriage records reviewed by SFGATE begin to coalesce a portrait of Terrys life. A later trial was planned for the murder of his other victims at a later date. That would have been her top story, top of the Christa news would have been 'I'm having an affair with my local trash man,'" he says. "Did I want a not guilty? And McCowen's attorney, Bob George, thought it was sufficient grounds for a retrial. In a statement Thursday,. Limited CompassionSociety's obsession with true crime isn't new, but when the content diminishes the very people whose stories are told while lionizing the perpetrators in the . And his DNA doesn't show up anywhere at the crime scene. If you have questions about these sightings, or want to report a sighting, call the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615 or send e-mail to cape.sightings@massaudubon.org. They noted that the car hadnt been reported stolen, and they didnt see anything strange in the area. A powerful explosion and resulting fire reduced a Cape Cod home to rubble Thursday night and left debris scattered in nearby trees. Jaws film poster (L) and screenshot from the film via Joe Hill's tumblr page (R). According to Vonneguts Life article, the victims had been dismembered with what local police guessed at the time to be a brush hook or an ax. As far as the DNA is concerned, the state's expert says it proves - beyond doubt - that McCowen had sex with Christa Worthington. Karina Holmer laughed with friends outside a nightclub in Downtown Boston, marking the last time the 20-year-old Swedish au pair would be seen alive. On May 12, 1974, Costa committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell. Authors Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan explain that the prosecutors decided to only pursue charges they were certain of. In it, McCowen is sometimes confused and comes up with at least half a dozen different versions of what really happened the night police say Christa Worthington died. As for the DNA, the lynchpin of the prosecution's case, the significance of that, George says, is all in how you look at this crime. Whether you want to or not. You'd sit around and once again go through it, trying to figure out, could it have been Tim? You know ultimately I ended up over her house having a cup of teaand one thing leads to another," Jackett remembers. On July 26, 1974, Terry was found deceased in the dunes about a mile east of the Race Point Ranger station inside the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown, MA. Please enter valid email address to continue. The murder remains unsolved. So you can only imagine what parents in Provincetown and Truro, Massachusetts felt when Antone Costa was revealed to be the Cape Cod Vampire, a serial killer responsible for at least four brutal murders and possibly as many as eight. Courtesy Cape Cod Times In 2014, Rams went on trial for the murder of Shirley. Where are they now? Is it her and could it help lead to her identity? The perpetrator shot through a basement window at a home in Mashpee. The proximity of the murder, along with the fact that she was a single mother, like the victim, lead Flook to identify with her on both levels and to conduct a "literary investigation" into the case. He joined friends at a local club, where they were videotaped by an onlooker, while taking part in a "Rap" contest. A real independent way of life," he says. Firefighters responded to reports of smoke rising from a yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane. Though he was linked to the remains of four women, Tony Costa was thought to have killed up to eight victims total. Osborn had blunt force injuries to her head and neck. "You don't have to be Oliver Wendell Holmes to figure out there's something strange about that! The 2002 murder of fashion writer Christa Worthington in her Depot Road home in Truro rocked Cape Cod and made national headlines 20 years ago. Emergency responders found Marchioni with multiple stab wounds in the face, neck and chest. Normally sleepy, safe places, the discovery of several dismembered bodies in the woods near Truro was incredibly shocking. Costa was tied to the crimes when detectives discovered that he was growing marijuana at the site where the bodies were discovered. Marchioni, of Framingham, was savagely stabbed to death inside her home on Oct. 8, 2001. His vehement denial coupled with a lack of forensic evidence, according to Rams' lawyer, resulted in his. And the baby was very enchanting," says Susan Jackett. The year before the gruesome Cape Cod murder, a female bank robber named Rory Gene Kesinger escaped from the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. The feds warn that Jack Teixeira, accused of leaking classified documents on the war in Ukraine, could expose more secrets if he . Arnold's story was that he had simply dropped by the house at 4:30 that afternoon to return a flashlight and instead got the shock of his life. Muldavin was discovered in Greenwich Village and taken into custody for questioning. However, the haunting memory of his brutal crimes lingers in the small Cape Cod town where he left behind a vicious legacy. In our Crime . Costa also used the site to bury a stash of drugs he'd stolen from a doctor's office a few years earlier, and frequently brought women there to take drugs. But the more I got to know her, I liked her. Yes! "She was mysterious, enigmatic, somewhat of a loner.". (FBI via AP) Officials used investigative genealogy to identify a woman whose mutilated body was found on the Cape Cod National Seashore nearly 50 years ago, solving the mystery of the "Lady of. "And then he's presented with a fairly strong piece of evidence that he's lying," O'Keefe says, referring to the DNA evidence. The videotaped rap contest shows Frazier listening to music with McCowen nearby. Story highlights Shirley Reine was found dead in her home. The flip side of the card has tip line information and a mailing address. Another one time suspect, Keith Amato, described a similar experience. Cold case. Officials hope the cards could inspire someone with information to come foward. "I think the preponderance of the evidence indicates that he's guilty," one person said. When police arrived, they found a nightmarish scene. Arnold emphatically denied to police that he had anything to do with the crime. The agencies believe Muldavin and Terry married in February 1974, and both went by a number of other names including Raoul Guy Rockwell, Guy Muldavin Rockwell, Teri Marie Vizina, Terry M. Vizina and Teri Shannon. Unsolved murder is covered by several articles: Clearance rate. Then, to Tony's total shock, she forgave him. Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder Thursday in the alleged killing of his wife, Ana Walshe. In New Bedford, authorities continue to seek leads in the death of Joaquim Jack Perry, who was 21 years old when his beaten body was discovered in the woods behind the New Bedford Airport, The Standard Times reported. Kesinger fit the general profile of the victim, and authorities thought she could be Provincetown's Jane Doe. Incredibly, he'd been right under their noses from the start. But Steve Radlauer, who dated Christa for two years in New York, says she never felt part of the glamorous world she covered. "He said he was in trouble. Again, when questioned, Costa told police that Perry had run away to Mexico. The FBI's Oct. 31 announcement of Terry's identity brought the long-unsolved murder case to a sharp focus on Terry's husband, Guy Rockwell Muldavin, now dead, whose history of evading a double murder charge in 1960 makes him a prime suspect. But The Lineup notes that Costa was only arraigned on three counts of murder. The Cape Cod National Guardsman was arrested by FBI agents earlier this month at his mother's home in Dighton where prosecutors say they found a gun locker in his bedroom along with rifles . Smith, a 19-year-old Scotland, Maryland resident, enrolled at Becker College in 2008 to study sports management. While searching for Walsh and Wysocki, police discovered the dismembered body of Susan Perry, which kicked the investigation into high gear. She also demanded that he tell his wife, Susan. Questions linger in the unsolved case of William Smith, Jr.s killing in 2008. "If you can't trust what you find at the crime scene because the scene has been corrupted, if you can't trust the statement because it's unreliable, and if the DNA doesn't mean anything 'cause the defendant could have been involved in a consensual relationship with the victim, then what happened?". "You think, 'It's gotta be someone who is here, 'cause no one comes here in January.'". Brian Walshe and his defense attorney . In a 1969 Life magazine article written by famed author Kurt Vonnegut, a fellow Cape Cod resident, Vonnegut describes hearing Costa referred to as a spoiled little boy who was never punished for anything., Vonnegut goes on to assert that his own daughter, then-19-year-old Edith, met Costa one summer when he invited her to go see his marijuana patchan invitation she declined. Maine's oldest unsolved murder case is that of 13-year-old Mary Catherine Olenchuk. "He admits that, yes, he went there on Friday night, yes, he had sex with her and yes, he beat her. The results were disappointing to police, because the DNA from Christa didn't match Tim Arnold or Tony Jackett, or any other suspect the police had. "I think about it a lotI think about it just about every day," he acknowledges. "It's enough to establish that the statements were made, the bias statements were made, now it's up to the judge to decide if there's gonna be a new trial," George told WBZ at the time. List of unsolved deaths. "This is a person with a 76 to a 78 IQ on his best day, meaning on a day where he's not using drugs and alcohol, not under pressure," George says. It was a woman, dead for perhaps several weeks. According to author Robin Smith-Johnson, Costa was held in jail for 14 months before finally being brought to trial, with charges involving only the two of his victims who had initially been positively identified: Mary Ann Wysocki and Patricia Walsh. His attorney theorized that Tony resisted the advances of other inmates and was killed as a punishment. She had beenlast seen April 7, 1991, and lived at the River Bend Motel. Sign up forThe Lineup's newsletter, and get our most terrifying investigations delivered straight to your inbox. In 1960, he made national news as a suspect in the disappearance of his wife Manzanita Mearns and her 18-year-old daughter Dolores Ann in Seattle. In the prosecution's scenario, McCowen was drinking heavily that night. As reported by The New York Post, the Cape Cod Vampire murders involved the idyllic small towns of Provincetown and nearby Truro, Massachusetts. With the police? On July 26, a girl walking her dog along the Race Point Dunes of Provincetown, Massachusetts stumbled onto what she initially thought was a dead animal. No matter how many references and safeguards you use, there's always the possibility that the person you've trusted with your kids will turn out to be dangerous.
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