True Crime On This Day May 28th

May 28th

On May 28th in true crime, cold case murder, mystery disappearances, murder in Milwaukee, missing persons, unsolved crimes.

1978

In Walterboro, South Carolina, the partially nude body of 27-year-old Gwendolyn Elaine Fogle was found in a pool of blood by her two roommates.

The main suspect at the time was James Willie Butterfield but due to a solid lack of evidence, he was never charged with the murder.

Skip forward to 2015 and cold case investigators looked at the evidence with new technology available and conclusively proved that Butterfield was the killer.

In 2017, Butterfield was seen as not competent to stand trial and was sent back to a Columbia psychiatric facility where he had already been confined for other crimes.

1979

In Santa Monica, California, 30-year-old Richard Hecht was shot dead in his apartment in front of a female witness. An unknown suspect forced his way into Hecht’s apartment and engaged in an argument with him.

Just a few moments later, the suspect pulled a gun and shot Hecht dead. Despite the information provided by the witness, the suspect remains unidentified. As of 2022, it is an active cold case in the State of California.

1980

In Anaheim, California, 32-year-old Dorothy Jane Scott disappeared after taking two co-workers to hospital for a spider bite. When she went to get her car to pick them up, she vanished.

The car was last seen speeding away from the hospital with an unidentified driver. In previous months, Scott had been receiving phone calls from a stalker who had threatened to kill her, cut her up into pieces and bury her where no one would find her.

On August 6^th 1984, her skeletal remains were found just a few feet away from a main road. A recent bushfire had destroyed the foliage near the road and exposed the remains.

She was identified through dental records. The circumstances surrounding her death and the mystery stalker remain unsolved.

1981

In Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in the early hours of the morning, Christine Schultz was shot dead in her home. Before her death, she had been gagged, blindfolded, and tied up with rope.

She had been murdered by former police officer, Laurie ‘Bambi’ Bembenek who was in a relationship with Schultz’s ex-husband, Fred. Bembenek was arrested shortly after and sentenced to life in prison during a 1982 trial.

Bembenek made the headlines again in 1990, when she escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution via a laundry room window.

After intense media coverage, Bembenek returned to the United States from Canada in 1991.

A retrial sentenced to her to 20 years but commuted to time served and she was released shortly after. Her case inspired two TV movies and multiple books. She died in 2010 of natural causes.

1982

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 25-year-old Anne Lillian Riggin vanished without a trace. She had last been seen near her residence and wasn’t reported missing until many days after.

She had a scar above her left eye and a previously fractured collarbone. At least two unidentified bodies have been linked to Riggin over the years but both had no collarbone fracture.

Investigators have long suspected foul play. Her disappearance remains open unsolved.

1983

In Noble County, Indiana, 31-year-old Avila Town Marshall  William Miner was shot dead while responding to reports of vandalism. He arrived at the scene to find two men, 18-year-old William J. Spranger, and Allen Snyder, vandalising a car.

As he was attempting to arrest them, Miner’s service revolver was knocked away into the highway. Spranger grabbed the weapon and shot Miner in the back, who died instantly of his injury.

Both men were arrested shortly after. Snyder testified against Spranger in a plea deal that saw him receive a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Spranger claimed that Snyder had killed the officer but was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. On November 6^th 1997, Spranger was resentenced to 60 years in prison, due to his age at the time of the murder.

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