True Crime On This Day March 19th

Last Updated on September 22, 2022 by Ben Oakley

March 19th

On March 19th in true crime, murder in New York, cold case mystery, unsolved homicide, female mass murderer Priscilla Ford.

1978

In New York, 15-year-old Willie James Bosket shot dead Noel Perez on the New York subway, during an attempted robbery. Eight days later, he shot dead another man in another attempted robbery.

The murders and his subsequent soft conviction because he was a juvenile, led to a change in New York state law.

The Juvenile Offender Act of 1978 meant children as young as 13-years-old could be tried in an adult court for murder and would face the same penalties. New York was the first to enact this change to the law.

Bosket is still considered one of the most dangerous prisoners in the State. Due to various attacks committed while in prison, including the stabbing of a guard. He has remained in isolation for over two decades.

1979

In Grand Junction, Colorado, 45-year-old Clyde Peterman was found dead in the bathtub of his apartment. He had been beaten to death and had cuts all over his body.

Peterman was a janitor at a local hotel and did not show up to work one day. He was a recovering alcoholic and openly gay. It was suspected the motive may have been anti-homosexual in nature.

Despite numerous suspects, the culprit has never been found. As of 2022, it remains an active cold case.

1980

In Erie County, Pennsylvania, 44-year-old Jeanne Marie Scrima disappeared as she travelled to her farmhouse in New York. She had told her four children that she would be there when they returned from school.

Somewhere along the way, she vanished without a trace. Scrima’s husband later claimed that she had eloped with her boyfriend and he had no intention of helping the investigation.

It turned out that Scrima was having an affair and had stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Erie with her boyfriend, two days before her disappearance.

Scrima was not officially reported missing until May 4^th 1980, when her lawyer could not contact her. Scrima’s car, a blue 1977 Lincoln Continental was found abandoned in Michigan.

Despite her husband and boyfriend both being suspects, no-one has ever been arrested in connection with the disappearance. No trace of Scrima has ever been found.

1981

In Denver, Colorado, 24-year-old shop worker Stephen Marquez was shot dead during a robbery. In the late evening, an unidentified suspect entered the Eddie’s Cut Rate Liquor Store, where Marquez worked, and demanded money at gunpoint.

At some point during the robbery, Marquez was fatally shot and he died of his wounds later in hospital. Despite a large investigation, no suspect has ever been caught, and the murder remains unsolved.

1982

In Reno, Nevada, mass murderer Priscilla Joyce Ford was found guilty on six counts of murder and 23 counts of attempted murder.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 27^th 1980, Ford drove her 1974 Lincoln Continental along a sidewalk with the intention of hitting as many people as possible. She had been treated and released from at least seven different psychiatric hospitals before moving to Reno in 1980.

She had been long-term diagnosed as suffering from schizoaffective disorder. While in custody, she was reported as saying, ‘the more dead, the better’.

She also claimed she was the reincarnation of Jesus and therefore incapable of sin. Ford was sentenced to death and died of natural causes on January 29^th 2005.

1983

In Redford, Michigan, 19-year-old graduate Christina Castiglione disappeared while on her way to a party. Her boyfriend and a group of friends told police they were on their way to the party by car, when they saw her walking in the same direction.

They pulled over at the local party store and waited for her to get there but she never showed up.

Ten days later, on March 31^st, her body was found near the roadside. She had been raped and strangled to death.

Her murder was similar to that of 16-year-old Kimberly Louiselle who had suffered a similar fate in 1982 while hitchhiking home in the same area.

Castiglione’s boyfriend and friends were cleared of any involvement. Despite suggestions that she was a victim of a serial killer, her murder has never been solved.

Check out the Mega List of True Crime Podcasts