True Crime On This Day September 3rd

September 3rd

On September 3rd, in true crime, there are cold cases, missing persons, a brutal murder, a mystery disappearance, and assassination.

1978

The naked remains of 33-year-old Marilee Lee Bruszer were discovered near Yuba Lake Campground in Utah. She remained a Jane Doe until 2015 when she was identified using DNA technology.

There was also a larger issue that the original investigators had given a confusing description of the body. The murder remains unsolved and is an active cold case in the State of Utah.

1979

In Del Valle, Texas, 23-year-old Pinkie Mae Davis-Herron disappeared without a trace. She had last been seen on her way to work at the Tex Golden Nugget motel and bar.

Friends had seen her in the car heading in that direction, but she never arrived and was never seen again. Davis-Herron had married in 1970 when she just 14-years-old. She had two children by her husband and got divorced in 1975.

Her husband was not a suspect in her disappearance, but Davis-Herron was never seen again. The disappearance remains a mystery.

1980

In Dalton, Georgia, 19-year-old Demetra Faye Parker, was stabbed 97 times with a pocketknife, resulting in her death. She had been killed by 17-year-old Janice Buttrum and her husband, 28-year-old Danny Buttrum.

They used their baby as a ruse to enter the motel room of Parker, who had just moved to the area from Tennessee. They let their baby crawl around the room as the couple viciously attacked Parker. Janice helped Danny rape Parker, as they stabbed her constantly.

They were arrested a day later and each sentenced to death in separate trials. The judge referred to the murder as barbarism and butchery on a vile scale. Danny hung himself in his cell on death row and Janice’s sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

1981

In Indianapolis, Indiana, 25-year-old Sharon Emery disappeared after an argument with her male roommate. Emery had been out drinking heavily with the same man in the evening, before a loud argument in the early hours of the morning saw her leave the apartment they shared.

The day before her disappearance, she had left her son in the care of friends, most likely as she knew she would be drinking that night. Police discovered later that an unidentified person had tried to run her over with a car just a few days earlier but nothing came of it as Emery walked away from the scene.

The night of the disappearance, neighbours in the apartment block heard a violent argument between Emery and her roommate but she wasn’t reported missing until two days later. Neighbours also claimed they saw a blood-stained rug outside the apartment building but it vanished by the time police arrived.

Two theories were put forward. The first one was that Emery had died of a drug overdose and her body dumped somewhere in rural Indiana. The other was that she went back to the apartment after the argument and was killed by her roommate.

She was last seen headed towards an area known for prostitution and drugs. Despite a large investigation, Emery’s disappearance remains unsolved.

1982

In Palermo, Italy, on September 3rd, General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was assassinated on the orders of Mafia boss Salvatore Riina. Chiesa had fought hard to stop the violence of the Second Mafia War which ran from the late 1970s to early 1990s.

Back on April 30^th, leader of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), Pio La Torre, was assassinated by the Sicilian Mafia because he initiated a law that introduced a new crime in the Italian legal system called mafia conspiracy.

It was only after Chiesa’s assassination that parliament rushed through the law as an emergency measure against Mafia violence.

1983

In County Mayo, Ireland, 69-year-old Josie Joyce was stabbed to death in a frenzied attack outside a school. After an evening drinking in local pubs, he walked home along Newport Road, where he was stabbed 40 times in the face, neck, stomach, and back.

His body was discovered the following morning by the principal of the school. There had been no attempt to conceal Joyce’s body and he was left in the open.

An investigation made up of 30 detectives, interviewed 3,000 people, and took 1,000 statements. Three weeks later on September 21^st, 21-year-old Thomas Kirwan from County Clare, was charged with the murder. He claimed he had a compulsion to kill someone but had no memory of the attack.

He was found guilty by reason of insanity and detained at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum. His current whereabouts are unknown.