The “Lady of the Dunes” now has a reputation: Ruth Marie Terry.
Terry, of Tennessee, was 37 when somebody killed her and left her physique within the Provincetown dunes in July 1974.
The case is a Massachusetts legend, the supply of widespread hypothesis for now almost half a century. Until this level, Terry was the oldest unidentified murder sufferer in state historical past.
The FBI, U.S. Attorney’s workplace and state and native police held a press convention on Monday, asserting this newest chapter in an outdated Massachusetts ghost story on Halloween.
Little additional data was accessible. The feds mentioned Terry had ties to California, Michigan and Massachusetts, however mentioned at this level there aren’t clear info about what introduced her right here and what she’d been doing on the Cape. Special Agent in Charge Joseph Bonavolonta mentioned her household solely was notified this morning after “forensic genealogy” pointed again to her beginning final week, so the investigation continues.
“This is without a doubt a major break in the investigation that will hopefully bring all of us closer to identifying the killer,” he mentioned.
This case has been the topic of consideration for years, each due to its thriller and its brutality. Terry was left nude, almost decapitated and with each of her palms utterly eliminated and by no means discovered. Some of her tooth, too, had been pulled, encouraging hypothesis that the mob — significantly James”Whitey” Bulger and his Winter Hill Gang, had been concerned.
Assorted serial killers even have been floated, together with some who claimed the slaying, although their credibility is questionable. For years hypothesis additionally stirred round the truth that “Jaws” was filming close by and a girl who bore resemblance to the descriptions and reconstructions of the Lady of the Dunes might be seen as an additional on the seashore.
“Today’s announcement should also serve as a warning to every murderer, rapist and violent offender out there,” Bonavolonta mentioned. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will not rest it may take years or even decades in some cases, but we are determined and we will be dogged in our search for justice for victims and their families.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”