PA PA - Dolores Della Penna 17, Philadelphia, July 12, 1972

[Moonwalker9]

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Dolores Della Penna was murdered in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA on July 12, 1972. Her murder remains unsolved.

The details of her murder is gruesome, there is even a wikipedia link to it, unsolved to this day.

 

[CCJD]

Sources tell FOX 29 police believe that a local biker gang mistakenly thought Della Penna was involved in the disappearance of some drugs. They kidnapped and tortured her with a machete, then killed her. There have been no arrests.

Investigators continue to work leads in hopes of unlocking 1972 cold case

Investigators are working to find clues in hopes of unlocking a cold case from 1972.

www.fox29.com

 

[CCJD]

One witness said the kidnappers planned to hold her for ransom, but one man became excited and decapitated her. Much of the information reportedly comes from prisoners. The Inquirer said District Attorney Lynn Abraham told DellaPenna's parents that the case needs more investigation before anyone can be formally charged.

Drug gang suspected of 1972 killing - UPI Archives

Philadelphia police believe they have solved the killing of a young woman who was abducted, beaten and dismembered 24 years ago, a published report said...

www.upi.com

 

[Fede]

"The Inquirer, citing police sources, said investigators have located witnesses who said DellaPenna was killed by dealers who thought she had stolen drugs from one of her roommates in a house in Wildwood Crest, N. J."

What happened with these witnesses? Why their testimony has not led to an arrest??

 

[ifindedout]

I remember when this cold case revived in 1996 as described in the second post by @CCJD in the thread, then it dropped off the MSM radar, not to be heard from again until recently. As DA for the city of Philadelphia Lynne Abraham was very aggressive in prosecuting cases. If she couldn't get this case prosecuted, she must have had pretty good reasons for not going forward with it.

edit: minor deletion

 

[Mama-dukes]

 

[Richard]

Dolores Della Penna, age 17, murdered 12 July 1972

... On July 22, 1972, a Jersey City butcher discovered the torso and arms of a young woman in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The fingertips on the hands had been cut off presumably to prevent identification. On June 30, 1972, a man walking his dog in the neighboring town of Manchester Township, New Jersey found a pair of legs.
The remains were identified as Dolores Della Penna. Blood tests and an x-ray of the spine were used to help may the identification.

Sadly, Dolores Della Penna’s head was never found. A group of teenagers reported seeing a head matching Dolores’ description with long dark hair in nearby Dinosaur Lake. The teenagers attempted to remove the head from the lake, but were unable to do so. Police were not able to locate the head, but have reason the believe the report was accurate and that Dolores’ head is somewhere in Dinosaur Lake...

In the mid-1990s two incarcerated inmates came forward with details regarding the death of Dolores Della Penna. One inmate claimed that he saw Dolores being beaten and dragged into a car by members of a biker gang that dealt in drugs. The inmate felt that Dolores appeared to be unconscious. The other inmate claimed he witnessed Dolores being tortured inside of a car with a machete...

To date, police have interviewed five hundred people in Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and even Scotland. Police even dug up the floor of a garage fairly recently looking for solid evidence. Police believe they have a few suspects in eyesight, but they need more evidence. Police feel Dolores Della Penna was mistakenly murdered after the biker gang received false information. No one has been charged in Dolores’ case...

Dolores Della Penna’s parents, Ralph and Helen, have since passed away. They never gave up hope that their daughter’s murderer would be found. Ralph and Helen kept Dolores’ bedroom intact and memorialized her white christening dress in her honor until their dying day...

LINK:

Mistaken Murder

The Unsolved Murder of Dolores Della Penna

medium.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Kidnapped

Clipping found in The Philadelphia Inquirer published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 7/14/1972. Kidnapped

www.newspapers.com

Delay in the search

Clipping found in The Philadelphia Inquirer published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 7/29/1972. Delay in the search

www.newspapers.com

Gory Killing Of '72 Solved, Sources Say Arrests Sought In Case That Obsessed Police.

After one of the longest-running homicide investigations in Philadelphia history, authorities say they have solved the grisly murder of Dolores Della-Penna, a Tacony teenager who was kidnapped,...

web.archive.org

Gruesome killing remains unsolved

Exactly 24 years after Dolores DellaPenna was last seen alive, a media mob gathered outside her parents' Holmesburg home, awaiting news that arrest warrants had been issued for those who had killed...

web.archive.org