The circumstances of their deaths were strange, and fake news generated around his arrest made those circumstances seem even worse than they were. A young girl goes for a walk in the woods, only to vanish without a trace. Most of that was untrue or exaggerated. With all the elements of a classic mystery, sensational reports of the murder on Cape Cod topped the news around the country, leaving Christa's nervous neighbors with no reason to suspect that it would take police literally years to solve this crime, not that they didn't have plenty of suspects. "We had her over for dinner. Bob George also argues that police bungled the whole investigation. Unsolved Case: Episode 1 - F2P on the App Store It seems so unreal.". The police went to the FBI for a profile of the killer, but nobody seemed a fit. According to author Sam Baltrusis, Vonnegut not only clarified the details of the case for the public, but he managed to really capture the atmosphere in Provincetown and Truro, even spotting some strangely prophetic graffiti in town that read "Tony Costa Digs Girls.". In fact, Costa was soon the biggest dealer in Provincetown, Massachusettsand the only one who worked year-round. "He was using Percocet that day, he was using marijuana that day," George says. While other cases remain relatively unknown, out of the public eye but of equal importance. The case remains open while no arrests have been made and the womans identity remains a mystery. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). She is never seen again. "Mr. McCowen stated, 'I never meant for that lady to get killed. But the prosecution says that's rubbish. But it was his final group of victims that made him famousand earned him the nickname "The Cape Cod Vampire.". Local | This mysterious Bay Area beach is covered in broken ceramicsFood | Is San Francisco tiki bar the Tonga Room actually good?Culture| This SF restaurant was the blueprint for Bobs Burgers'Music| Nirvana's Cow Palace show was once panned. 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. Cold Cases Resources . "And I don't accept it. In May of 1970, Costa was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Mary Ann Wysocki and Patricia Walsh. "Who else would come down to the end of the world in January and do this?" He later died at UMass Memorial Medical Center. EPA: Machine gun range could harm Cape Cod drinking water Her remains were exhumed multiple times in the hopes of making DNA matches to living relatives. As reported by The Cape Cod Times, when Patricia Walsh and Mary Ann Wysocki went missing in 1969, Tony Costa was immediately a person of interest. That prompted the trial judge to take the unusual step of calling all 12 jurors back to court to be questioned. More Local Journalism to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 4/30/23, Maureen Boyle, author of Shallow Graves a book about the investigation into the New Bedford highway killer, told CBS. He was found April 9, 2011. According to Murderpedia, the body parts displayed bite marks and other post-mortem violations. And not a day goes by that I don't think of it,'" Mason testified. The cards were distributed by state police, the Department of Corrections, and district attorneys. Courtesy of the Martha's Vineyard Museum. The three of them had a relationship of sorts, with Ava at its center. And Tony Jackett, married, with six kids, nonetheless went for her, hook, line and sinker. Then he would transport the remains to the unofficial garden he tended in the woods for a quick burial. "It's a real challenge being out on the water, you knowmentally and physicallyreally. 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. He got up close and personal, and the horror didn't end with the victim's death. In the wake of every murder, clues appear. Firefighters from Truro and neighboring towns responded to a . A billionaire CEO and space pioneer is found dead on her company's recently launched space station. Steph Curry killed off the Kings with a smile, On an island of resorts, this Hawaii hotel is the budget option. Nirvana's Cow Palace show was once panned. Osborn had blunt force injuries to her head and neck. Tony, they say, had no reason to kill Christa. "I just think it's a case about reasonable doubt. Is San Francisco tiki bar the Tonga Room actually good? 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. Investigators believe there was an altercation after a group of men, about four or five, who were not invited went inside the party. But police refused to rule anyone out, and the suspect list was expanding to Agatha Christie-size proportions, at times even including Tony's then son-in-law, Keith Amato, who had taken an outside shower or two at Christa's house near the beach. When questioned, Costa claimed Monzon had simply run away to Europe. He hesitated and he said there's a child, and I said 'You're kidding,'" she recalls. 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. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Writer Joe Hill thinks there's a chance. A real independent way of life," he says. They shouldn't bother. She was by turns bright, talented and ambitious, and then a homebody who wanted nothing more than to spend time with her child," he says. But for those closest to Christa Worthington, life has moved on. "The Christa I knew was a person of contradiction. The four of clubs card shows Dixon, who was found in Cotuit onSept.19, 1994, with a shotgun wound to the back of the head. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Tips can also be emailed to tips.fbi.gov or MSPtips@pol.state.ma.us. More than 200,000 unsolved cases have gone cold since 1980. Spencer asks Jackett. The novel, titled "Resurrection," introduces us to a mysterious friend Costa calls "Carl." It was a woman, dead for perhaps several weeks. In the prosecution's scenario, McCowen was drinking heavily that night. It was surprise he didn't share with his wife of 26 years, even when Christa gave birth to a daughter, Ava, in May 1999. A true crime series on a Cape Cod serial killer is in development with That crazy brush with someone now known to be a serial killer propelled Vonnegut to take a very strong interest in the caseand in Costa himself. According to CapeCod.com, on Oct. 19, 1974, the unidentified victim was buried at St. Peters Cemetery in Provincetown with a marker that read: Unidentified Female Body Found Race Point Dunes; July 26, 1974.. 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. She was wearing a blue bandana and blue jeansand, now compared with known photographs of Terry, does bear a striking resemblance to the murder victim. Costa also had a habit of lecturing his fellow inmates about drug use, and there is evidence he was routinely assaulted during his time behind bars. After his arrest, Costa tried to turn his drug habit into an asset by implying that his drug use was to blame for the violent murders he'd committed, and often claimed his drug use had clouded his memory so he couldn't remember any of his actions. Grafton girl disappeared from a Sturbridge cottage she and her family were vacationing at on Aug. 5, 1993. Police picked up a docile McCowen at his rooming house, lying on the bed, watching cartoons; marijuana and an open bottle of prescription pain killers were on the table nearby. Her startled screams frightened the would-be attacker away that night, but his disturbing predilections could not be kept at bay. Williams wonders. Her mother often hired Tony Costa to watch her daughters, and Rodman carried fond memories of her "favorite" babysitter. A death certificate shows Terrys mother died a year later of epilepsy. In a phone call with him, she was taped criticizing the police and there's concern about bias. O'Keefe argues, saying Frazier had nothing to do with the murder. No one has ever been charged in connection with any of the deaths. "We were just going to have to live with the fact that the perception of my being a suspect is going to stay.". Four of the unsolved homicide cases featured in the deck are murders that happened on. The widened circle brought in DNA from repairmen, trash men and deliverymen. Home. For five agonizing days, the jury, including two African Americans debated that very question. Jermaine Taylor was murdered on January 27, 2018. "There were leads that weren't followed, and there were things that weren't done," George says. And McCowen's attorney, Bob George, thought it was sufficient grounds for a retrial. Whatever Dinis intended to do, what he actually did was create a media frenzy surrounding the case. By the spring of 2005, townspeople were starting to think police never would figure out who killed Christa Worthington. This week, the FBI announced the Lady of the Dunes has a name: Ruth Marie Terry. Anyone with eyes could see that he was terribly hurt by what happened," says his attorney, Bob George. 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. Normally sleepy, safe places, the discovery of several dismembered bodies in the woods near Truro was incredibly shocking. In our Crime . It took her decades to realize that the man she'd trusted so implicitly was a crazed serial killer. 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. Creepy Cape Cod: Hauntings, Murders and Unexplainable Events 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. "We were just like electrified. It wasn't going on then, 'cause we would have heard about it. She had been left face-down on a beach blanket, and there was no sign of a struggle, so she may have been attacked while napping or by someone she knew. 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. 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. In 1974 a still-unidentified body was discovered in the dunes of Cape Cod. "Did I want a not guilty? Unresolved - Cape Cod Times These are just some of the bizarre unsolved mysteries we've covered on The Lineup. Then, on day six, there was a shocker, when the judge announced he was throwing one juror off the panel -- a white woman whose boyfriend was arrested in an unrelated crime. Christopher McCowen's interview at the police barracks lasted about six hours and for whatever reason, he declined to have it recorded, so the only record of this crucial interview is a report some 20 pages long that the detectives wrote, from their notes, about a week later. "Chris wants to explain, Chris regrets . "I feel fortunate and blessed that I was born and raised here.". If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. As a result he earned several colorful nicknames, like "Chop Chop" or "The Cape Cod Casanova." Normally sleepy, safe places, the discovery of several dismembered bodies in the woods near Truro was incredibly shocking. George argued in court. The Lineup notes that Costa got married in 1963, and eventually had three children with his wife, Avis. When police arrived, they found a nightmarish scene. "She had this having a baby thing in mind, and I think she felt like this would be a good place to do that," says Radlauer. SF tourists go in droves to In-N-Out. He said he'd scooped her up and ran outside. Over 50 years later, the case remains cold. You know ultimately I ended up over her house having a cup of teaand one thing leads to another," Jackett remembers. "Sometimes the weight of events forces you to look back. READ MORE 5. This was a Friday night, this was a college town, this was a college party, this was a fight that happened off campus. Again, when questioned, Costa told police that Perry had run away to Mexico. But he still claims he had nothing to do with Christa Worthington's death. Yes! Massachusetts' unsolved killings 1 of 8 Watch "Murder on Cape Cod: Who Shot Shirley Reine?" Wednesday, September 2, at 9 p.m. According to Murderpedia, on May 12, 1974, a corrections officer found Costa hanging from a leather belt in his cell, dead. 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. Rodman recalls that in 1969 Costa suddenly disappeared and no one would tell her where he'd gone. Jackett says he felt just disbelief and that the crime just seemed so senseless. Jackett was allowed to see his daughter only one afternoon a week. Over 44 years later, Stephen King's son, writer Joe Hill, believes he's solved the case. Officials hope the cards inspire someone with information to come forward. Back in court, the defense also must deal with its other big problem - that statement. 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. Mixing the counterculture of the 1960s, drug culture, and a handsome, charismatic young man, it's a story that lends itself to myth-making. Of the 9,686 homicides that took place in Massachusetts from 1965 until 2019, there are 3,749 that remain unsolved, according to statistics from Project: Cold Cases. As with many recent identifications, the breakthrough was finally achieved through genetic genealogy, the process by which investigators use publicly available DNA profiles from genealogy kits to trace down living relatives. 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.". As reported by The New York Post, Costa was allegedly sexually assaulted by an older boy when he was just 12 years old. The decks will be given out to state prison inmates, who state police hope will have information about some of the cases and be willing to come forward. The bodies were then buried near a garden of sorts that Provincetown native Tony Costa maintained. A Cape Cod home was destroyed in a powerful explosion that caused a massive fire and left behind an expansive debris field. Karen Marchioni (Photo submitted by Jennifer Case). Since Terry was found brutally murdered in the dunes of Provincetown, generations of investigators professional and amateur have taken up her case. State Police also created a video with pictures of each of the cards that they posted to itssocial media so that members of the public could also have a look at the unsolved cases. 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. Suddenly, there was a match, a suspect and an arrest, all announced to the world by District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, three and a half years after the crime. "He said he was in trouble. Their testimony revealed there was racial tension in the jury room. Katie Dowd is the SFGATE managing editor. Unsolved Crimes Taking French Leave: Jailbreak in Cape Cod By crimecapsule 1912 Harold Tracy claimed he was 'a public scapegoat' at a hearing for sentence reduction on the jailbreak charge. Marchioni, of Framingham, was savagely stabbed to death inside her home on Oct. 8, 2001. "You think, 'It's gotta be someone who is here, 'cause no one comes here in January.'". A man is found dead on a beach, his identity unknown. Christopher McCowen was found guilty of first-degree murder. But George says, getting the jury to believe that could be a problem, because his client is being tried in lily white Cape Cod. When detectives took him in for questioning, McCowen waived his right to a lawyer. The case against Christa's alleged killer, O'Keefe concedes, depends on two vital pieces of evidence. Christopher McCowen's lawyer Bob George is taking an optimistic view, insisting that time, and the evidence, are on his side. Joe Hill, son of prolific author Stephen King, has publicly stated he thought an extra in the film Jaws a woman wearing a blue bandana looked like the composite image of the victim created by forensic experts at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Smithsonian Institution, the website reported. Anyone holding tickets for April 28 or April 29 may email info@falmouththeatreguild.org or leave a message at the box office, 508-548-0400, for an alternate date . Want more true crime? ET. Christa Worthington murder 20 years later: How police solved the crime "How do I explain this? The EPA launched a review of the project in August 2021. First published on September 20, 2007 / 11:18 AM. The Crazy True Story Of The Cape Cod Vampire - Grunge 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. The case of Karen Marchionis murder has remained unsolved for 21 years now. The author lived in the same town, less than a mile from the crime scene. No arrests have been made in connection with Smiths killing. "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. She also demanded that he tell his wife, Susan. Police widened their circle. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. These days, Arnold struggles with health problems, mainly affecting his vision. Two of the women were said to have been shot with a .22 rifle. And his DNA doesn't show up anywhere at the crime scene. 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. "A very devoted mother and she would always have Ava on her lap and they would always be playing and laughing," Linda remembers. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case: A timeline of events, Lamar Johnson: "I am a freed man and a blessed man", Father told daughter, 14, to drive siblings home as he abducted their mother, Exonerated man fulfills dream of walking daughter down the aisle, Chad Daybell's kids claim he was "fooled in worst, most deadly way possible". But then, on April 7, investigators caught a stunning break, when the crime lab had a hit -- a match for DNA found outside and inside Christa's body. 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. He joined friends at a local club, where they were videotaped by an onlooker, while taking part in a "Rap" contest. "Trooper Mawn slammed his hand down on the table and said, 'This is a murder investigation. The year before the gruesome Cape Cod murder, a female bank robber named Rory Gene Kesinger escaped from the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. In the 1980s, Unsolved Mysteries was a big television hit. The horror began in the summer of 1974. Also, he had given police his DNA, voluntarily, more than a year earlier. Its not clear if Terry and Smith had children, but FBI Special Agent Joe Bonavolonta referred to Terry as a wife and mother in a Monday press conference. Uncovered: Cold Case Files for Murdered or Missing People Unsolved murder is covered by several articles: Clearance rate. Nine of those womans bodies would later be found by police. Avis filed for divorce in 1968 as a result of Tony's increasingly erratic behavior and abuse. Kesinger fit the general profile of the victim, and authorities thought she could be Provincetown's Jane Doe. 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. But he doesn't want to bring himself to admit that he killed her. I believed he was innocent and still believe he's innocent and will believe he's not guilty until the day I die," says his attorney. Arnold later told police little Ava was trying to nurse. But The Lineup notes that Costa was only arraigned on three counts of murder. The 10-year-olds remains were discovered by hunters in a wooded area near Five Bridge Road in Brimfield on Oct. 23, 1993. In 1997, a new lady came to town - a glamorous former fashion writer from New York named Christa Worthington. 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. Without DNA testing at the time, they couldnt definitively say who it belonged to, but it seemed a safe assumption the missing women had been found. Police said Clark was not the target and was accidentally shot. A medical examiner determined that the body belonged to a young woman, around 19 to 27 years old, who was approximately 5 feet, 4 inches tall and had dirty blond hair. 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. "She was bruised up, looked like there had been some sort of altercation that she had been in," Williams explains. Costa bought the girls ice cream, gave them rides in his truck, and even gave them a tour of his "secret garden" where he grew cannabisand eventually buried his mutilated, dismembered victims. He describes speaking with local legend Victor Moulty Moulton, a member of the band The Barbarians, and asking if he knew Costa. The identity of Massachusetts' oldest unidentified homicide victim has been revealed publicly, almost 50 years after the infamous murder took place. Cold cases: Local unsolved murders Wanda Reine - March 1971 The wife of Falmouth trucker Melvin Reine, Wanda, disappears. Lady in the Dunes | Town of Provincetown, MA - Official Website 2007 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Brian Walshe and his defense attorney . List of unsolved deaths. "Well, being a suspect definitely cost me custody, more than anything else, custody of my daughter," he says. So police intimidated him, George argues, in a six-hour interrogation, much as they'd done with other suspects, like Tim Arnold. 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. I saw Christa two weeks before she was murdered, roughly. Episodes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and strange phenomena captivated audiences.
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