True Crime On This Day December 13th

Last Updated on September 19, 2022 by Ben Oakley

December 13th

On December 13th in true crime, cold case disappearances, mystery body, gruesome discovery, serial killer, cop killer in Missouri.

1978

In Colorado Springs, Texas, the body of 18-year-old Peggy S. Gaylord was discovered west of Highway 115. Gaylord was last seen hitchhiking south on the same highway a few days earlier.

She had been bludgeoned to death by an unknown killer. As of 2022, Gaylord’s murder remains unsolved and is an active cold case in the State of Texas.

1979

In Springfield, Vermont, the skeletal remains of 13-year-old Sherry Nastasia were discovered in a shallow grave in a remote area.

She had been a victim of serial killer Gary Lee Schaefer who killed three people between 1979 and 1983. Nastasia had been abducted near to an apartment complex where she lived with her parents.

The same apartment complex that Schaefer’s brother was managing. In 1983, Schaefer was arrested and confessed to three murders along with additional rapes. He was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

1980

In Los Angeles, California, 76-year-old Betty Balas and her husband, Louis Balas, disappeared under suspicious circumstances. They had last been seen at their home in Wilshire District.

Police were called to their house after neighbours became concerned. When police entered the property, they found the television still on, a bathtub full of water and the doors to their house wide open.

There were no signs of a struggle and no reports of anything missing from the house. The following day, the couple’s car was found abandoned seven miles away.

Louis was due to testify against a man who had allegedly robbed and kidnapped him in 1978. Despite no trace of the couple ever having been found, investigators have long suspected foul play.

1981

In Hagerstown, Maryland, the mummified remains of an unidentified adult male between the ages of 18 to 30, were discovered. The body was found at the bottom of a steep slope near Melott East West Quarry.

Despite various missing persons cases being attributed to him over the years, he has never been identified. Investigators have long suspected foul play, as his teeth had been removed, in a suspected attempt to hide the identity of the victim. The case remains open and unsolved.

1982

In New York, 19-year-old David Thies vanished without a trace. He had last been seen when he stepped into the hallway outside his parents’ lower Manhattan home, to smoke a cigarette.

David was known to have suffered from various mental disorders but was never one to leave his family without telling them where he was going.

His mother claimed that David received death threats before he disappeared and believes he may have been abducted by a religious cult. Investigators have long suspected foul play but no trace of David has ever been found.

1983

In Kansas City, Missouri, 27-year-old Patrolman Philip Allen Miller was shot and killed after responding to a burglary alarm at a local high school.

When he approached the scene, he scared off one of the burglars and became involved in a foot chase. The suspect was cornered inside the garage of a nearby residence.

While trying to arrest the suspect, Miller was disarmed and shot with his own service weapon. The killer was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.

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