Episode 41 | Solved & Identified: Three New England Cold Cases - MA, NH, VT

Three cold cases: Patricia Tucker, "Granby Girl" Massachusetts, Katherine Alston "The Girl on Kilton Rd, Bedford, NH, Rita Curran, Burlington, Vermont

This episode is a little different from the way I usually cover New England crime stories. I give you an update on three New England cases: two cold case murder victims were identified and one cold case murder - the longest in Vermont's history - was solved. Patricia Coleman, known since 1978 as "The Granby Girl" was found in that Massachusetts town, shot in the head. Her identity went unknown until now. Katherine Alston, The Girl on Kilton Road, found dead, weeks to months after her death, in October 1971 in a wooded area on Kilton Rd in Bedford, NH, has been identified at last. And Rita Curran, a 24-year-old teacher was brutally assaulted, strangled, and murdered in her shared first-floor apartment near the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington. For five decades her killer was unknown, and, for a period of time had implicated a notorious serial killer. Hers was the oldest unsolved homicide in the state's history. Well, finally, we know who killed Rita Patricia Curran on July 20, 1971.

Crime of the Truest Kind

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Patricia Tucker aka "The Granby Girl" was murdered and her killer remains unknown. She was found in Granby but was living in East Hampton, Connecticut with her husband Gerald Coleman at the time of her death. She was also known as Patricia Dale and Patricia Heckman at certain points in her life and had two young sons. If you have information on Patricia Tucker's case, please contact Granby, Massachusetts Police at 413-467-9222, Email: JWhite@GranbyPD.org, or submit a message online at GranbyPD.org.

Katherine Alston's murder is unsolved. She was found in Bedford, NH in October of 1971. She was living in Boston at the time of her death. Investigators are seeking information from anyone who knew Katherine or her roommate, David Cormier, and includes people who lived in Dorchester, Boston, and Somerville between 1963 and the fall of 1971. Students who attended Boston University from 1963 To 1967 might recall Katherine from her days on campus there. Anyone with information is asked to contact The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit At 603-271-2663, Email: Coldcaseunit@Dos.NH.Gov, or use the online tip form at https://Business.Nh.Gov/Coldcasetips/Tip.Aspx.

Rita Curran's sexual assault and murder have finally been solved after 50 long years thanks to dedicated police work and forensic science. Cheers to that cop on the scene in 1971 who collected that very specific evidence, some surely discarded as trash, not knowing what a goldmine it would be later on in the case. Despite the media's best efforts, Ted Bundy did not kill Rita Curran.

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In Photos: Rita Curran, her sister Mary Curran Campbell at the press conference, press clippings from when she was killed, Colonial Motor Inn where Rita was working, the Lund Home for Unwed Mothers, the house at 17 Brookes Avenue where Rita was killed by her upstairs neighbor, and her final resting place at Saint Ann's Cemetery in Milton, Vermont..

In Photos: Patricia Tucker in the undated wedding photo, Patricia Tucker, where Granby Girl was laid to rest, press clippings after she was found, Patricia's son Matthew Dale and family

In Photos: Katherine Alston of Boston was identified as the Girl on Kilton Rd, found in 1971 off Route 101 in Bedford, NH, press clipping, clear but undated photos, and clay facial recreations to help ID her.

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