The Murder of Kathy Lynn Beatty

[scriptgirl]

Did the navy prosecute him? I mean, they seem so hands off.

 

[Richard]

Did the navy prosecute him? I mean, they seem so hands off.

Fred Coffey was charged in a Virginia civilian court for his actions against a 13 year-old girl in 1974.

When civilian authorities take jurisdiction in a case, the Navy very seldom intervenes to take over prosecution. The Navy COULD take jurisdiction and prosecute a service member depending on the circumstances, but in this case they did not.

The military cannot ALSO prosecute for the same offense, as that would be double jepardy. They CAN, however, take administrative action following a service member's conviction in civilian courts - and that is what seems to have been the case regarding Fred Coffey.

Coffey had successfully completed his third enlistment and had signed up early for a fourth enlistment before the Navy became aware of his civilian charges.

An enlisted Navy person signs up for a four year enlistment contract and at the end of that period (with a clean record) he/she is given an honorable discharge. He/she may be allowed to re-enlist for another four years. To allow for smooth transitions and transfers, service members can be allowed to sign up early for a follow-on enlistment. That way, all paperwork is done in advance and the next enlistment takes place immediately after the honorable discharge is awarded.

Once the nature of Coffey's crimes and his conviction were revealed, the Navy cancelled his fourth enlistment and assigned Coffey a "re-enlistment code" which denied him any future enlistment in any of the regular services (Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, or Coast Guard).

While the Navy COULD have convened an Administrative Discharge Board to consider giving Coffey a General Discharge (under Honorable Conditions) or and Undesirable Discharge from his third enlistment period, it appears that they simply allowed his Honorable Discharge to stand.

It is possible that the Navy was not given the entire picture on Coffey by those civilian police and courts. Coffey's commanding officer might not have had or known of all the evidence against him. It is likely that the Navy had to make a decision before a certain amount of time went by and they were unsure of how long the legal proceedings would take.

Keeping Coffey in the Navy during a long, drawn out, legal proceeding would have meant that some Navy command, ship, or unit would be a man short for an extended period of time. Cancelling Coffey's fourth enlistment and ensuring that he could not re-enlist at a later date was probably the most expedient way of getting rid of him.

As to his 1975 enlistment in the National Guard, I do not have any specifics about their procedures or background checks. Obviously, they did not know of Coffey's convictions in Virginia or the Navy's refusal to allow him to re-enlist. And Coffey may have neglected to mention it. By that time, his Navy record would have been sent to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO.

 

[scriptgirl]

The Navy's version of doing justice seems very...lenient. I wonder what happened to the girl he raped and her family

 

[JeannieC]

Please don't let Fred Coffey get his parole. Write a letter and stop this killer from being set free to do it again!

 

[Richard]

37 years have now passed since the attack on Kathy Lynn Beatty. Her murder remains unsolved and the investigation is still open.

 

[Richard]

PAROLE HAS BEEN DENIED to convicted child killer, Fred Howard Coffey Jr.

He won't be moving into the house next door any time soon.

The following is from Amanda Ray's mother:

-----------------------------

Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts to those of you who took the time to send a letter to the parole board on Amanda's behalf.

Fred H. Coffey will remain behind bars for another three years. He will come up for possible parole again in July 2015.

I spoke with his case analyst and she assured me that she read every letter that was sent in (received over 100) and that they were each taken into consideration when making the decision.

We will need your help again in 2015 and our goal is to get MANY more than 100 letters sent... Let's send THOUSANDS!!With deepest gratitude,

Jennifer Ray

A parole review date is set for July 21, 2015

LINK:

http://justice4amanda.tripod.com/

 

[scriptgirl]

I wonder what the rumors were re the "strange" wounds Kathy had on her hands.

 

[Richard]

I wonder what the rumors were re the "strange" wounds Kathy had on her hands.

Can you supply a link or reference to this? I have never seen an autopsey report or hospital file on her wounds.

There was very little press coverage on her. One short article on her being found alive and in hospital followed by another short one stating that she had died. About 6 months later, there was a longer article with more information and a lot of speculation. Then nothing for many years.

 

[zuli]

Good morning,

Richard, I think that ScriptGirl read the rumors about Kathy's feet and hands in Thomas' post ( 11-18-2010, 02:07 AM )

As to the level of violence: many rumors circulated. I don't want to repeat them but there was a significant rumor circulated about violence to hands and feet, with elaborations as time went on and rumors circulated. These were attributed to the heinous and perverted violence of the alleged perpetrator. Let's just say that the rumors came right out of twisted modern scream horror movies involving freaks with tool-kits. But let me say something else.

When I was 10 or so, we had an exercise bike in the basement. I was bored, and turned off the resistance brake, and pumped up the wheel to full speed. I got careless and one of the pedals kicked my heel and my foot went into the spoked wheel. When family rushed me to the hospital, my toe was hanging on by a thread. But it wasn't the result of diabolical torture. It was the result of someone getting caught in a machine. It was not the brutality of a criminal.

 

[Richard]

Zuli,

Thank you for your response and welcome to the forum discussion.

I recall the context of Thomas' remarks now. He was suggesting that she might have been injured in a motor bike accident. But as he points out, the stories of "strange injuries" to her hands and feet were based on rumors, and likely exaggerated.

I know that Kathy's injuries were of a very violent nature, but I do not know all the specifics of her wounds. The fact that they were so violent leads me to believe that her death was at the hands of a violent and evil individual who intended to harm/kill her - rather than the result of an accident or of kids playing around.

It is known that Kathy was walking around barefoot that evening, so it is quite possible that her feet would have been injured if she was attempting to flee or defend herself from an attack.

 

[scriptgirl]

I have said it before and I will say it again-this case reminds me of the Gloddy case in New Hampshire.

 

[EldonJackson]

There has been some discussion about this case in the Cold Case section of Websleuths, and it includes a link to the Montgomery County Police website. There is a photo of the keys found next to Kathy Lynn Beatty's purse.

The keyring was one of those round ones with a black leather fob attatched. Only two keys are on it.

One key is a Schlage brand house key of the kind that goes into a door knob. This would be the kind used in houses in the 1960's thru mid 1970's.

The other key is a GM ignition key. The website describes it as belonging to a 1972 General Motors vehicle. GM changed key blanks each year, so that usually you cannot even stick the key from one year model into the lock or ignition of the next year model.

This may be one of those times when the LACK of evidence may mean something. There is NO vehicle door lock key on the ring. This could mean that the vehicle was a pick-up truck or maybe a van. I am researching that possibility.

This is the photo of the keys from the MCP website:

 

[EldonJackson]

Moderators please advise: Is it possible to get the police to take high resolution color pictures of the keys and key fob (both sides, various angles) and post them on Websleuths? This is just the kind of thing that Websleuthers can help LE with.

Also, presuming the keys are still in evidence, are there any modern CSI tests that could reveal something that was not possible to discover then? Same for any other evidence (clothes, purse, etc).

I agree with the person who ID'd the one key as a Schlage house key. Had one just like it when I was in High School (Northern VA, 2 years ahead of Kathy Lynn).

I also agree that the other key looks like GM. I remember a friend's parent's had similar keys and they owned an Olds Cutlass.

 

[Richard]

Eldon,

Thanks for your comments, and welcome to this forum discussion.

It has never been proven that the keys found near Kathy Lynn Beatty actually belonged to her attacker, but it is a good possibility.

The Schlage key was used in the locks of external door knobs of houses in 1975 and earlier. It went out of style by the late 1970's or early 1980's. I had that type of keyed lock on a house built in 1976, and when I needed to replace a broken door knob in the 80's, I could not find that style anywhere.

That type of Schlage key was not commonly used on commercial type buildings, such as motels or stores. Also, it was not often used on internal doors like for offices or classrooms. It was primarily a key to a house door.

General Motors vehicles from the late 1960's through 1975 (and later) had two keys usually, the one with the rectangular head was for the ignition and and the second one with an oval head was used for the trunk and doors. An exception to this was that pick-up trucks and (for some years) vans employed only the one (rectangular) key for ignition and door locks. That is why I think that this key was for a truck or van, rather than a car.

The keys did not belong to Kathy. At age 14, she did not drive. She was, that evening, in and out of her house while her mother was away, so it is possible that she had a key to her own home. No word on whether or not she had any keys on her when she was found.

 

[NocturnalLady]

Eldon,

Thanks for your comments, and welcome to this forum discussion.

It has never been proven that the keys found near Kathy Lynn Beatty actually belonged to her attacker, but it is a good possibility.

The Schlage key was used in the locks of external door knobs of houses in 1975 and earlier. It went out of style by the late 1970's or early 1980's. I had that type of keyed lock on a house built in 1976, and when I needed to replace a broken door knob in the 80's, I could not find that style anywhere.

That type of Schlage key was not commonly used on commercial type buildings, such as motels or stores. Also, it was not often used on internal doors like for offices or classrooms. It was primarily a key to a house door.

General Motors vehicles from the late 1960's through 1975 (and later) had two keys usually, the one with the rectangular head was for the ignition and and the second one with an oval head was used for the trunk and doors. An exception to this was that pick-up trucks and (for some years) vans employed only the one (rectangular) key for ignition and door locks. That is why I think that this key was for a truck or van, rather than a car.

The keys did not belong to Kathy. At age 14, she did not drive. She was, that evening, in and out of her house while her mother was away, so it is possible that she had a key to her own home. No word on whether or not she had any keys on her when she was found.

I agree also about the Schlage key being a house key. Had one just like it in the same area growing up.

 

[NocturnalLady]

Also I wonder if the detectives at the time thought to go around to locksmiths and places that could make keys asking about their recent customers who needed new keys made of those two types. Surely if the keys did belong to the perp he would have encountered issues when he lost them. Maybe not able to get back in his house or car. Or maybe having to ask a relative or friend to bring over the spare keys he had left with them?? Maybe they could have gone on tv asking if anyone had recently had such an interaction involving lost keys. It's somewhat of a long shot but honestly probably one of the few concrete angles they could have gone after.

 

[Richard]

Also I wonder if the detectives at the time thought to go around to locksmiths and places that could make keys asking about their recent customers who needed new keys made of those two types. Surely if the keys did belong to the perp he would have encountered issues when he lost them. Maybe not able to get back in his house or car. Or maybe having to ask a relative or friend to bring over the spare keys he had left with them?? Maybe they could have gone on tv asking if anyone had recently had such an interaction involving lost keys. It's somewhat of a long shot but honestly probably one of the few concrete angles they could have gone after.

Good points. I think you are correct about these keys being a strong piece of evidence.

If these did belong to Kathy's attacker, then it would indicate two things; first that he had access to a house and second that he had a GM vehicle of some sort.

It is a good possibility that he had some problems that evening if he could not find his keys.

I am not certain what investigators did regarding the keys in the days immediately following the attack on Kathy. She died 12 days later, and it became a murder investigation which is still an unsolved and open case.

I do know that in 1987, when Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. came to their attention, case investigators attempted to connect the keys to him, to his place of employment, and to his known residence (The Holiday Motel in Gaithersburg). They could not connect them to him.

Since they still had those keys and were still very interested in them in 1987, 12 years after Kathy's murder, it is likely that they did attempt to connect them to others in the interim.

 

[OkieGranny]

Really interesting reading. Thomas paints a vivid word picture of the neighborhood and its youth culture at that time and, Richard, you've obviously devoted a lot of time and effort to this case and to that of the Lyon sisters. Thank you.

I really don't know what I think happened to Kathy. I can see it either way, accident or murder. Neither is beyond the realm of possibility, but oh how I would love to study those hospital and autopsy reports. With only a house key and a car key, the key ring definitely looks like a teenager's and IMO not necessarily linked to the incident that led to Kathy's death. If this was an area frequented by lots of teenagers -- partying, roughhousing, and riding cycles -- it could have fallen out of someone's pocket a day or two earlier, who knows? Was it fingerprinted, by any chance?

I followed a link on kathybeatty.com to a video on YouTube and noticed a comment that mentioned suspicion of a fellow with a rather uncommon name that begins and ends with a C. I'm wondering, was that a classmate of Kathy's? (I'm not linking directly to the YouTube video here because it's trying to add the video to my post, but it's a comment underneath that video that I'm referring to.)

 

[Richard]

I have personally visited Kathy's neighborhood and the areas mentioned in previous posts regarding possible places that she went. Some things have changed over the years, but much is the same as it was in July 1975

Of course, it is not known exactly what happened to Kathy, but we do have a basic time frame and a few clues. Her Mother left her home alone around 4PM, expecting to be back from Baltimore by 8 or 9PM. Kathy was seen walking barefoot around her neighborhood, close to her house, and riding her bike between about 4PM and 6:30 PM. Some time between 6:30 and 7PM, the boy next door talked to her at her house. It is known that she had a girlfriend "cover" for her in case her Mother called, and that she went to see a boy friend at his house, but that he was not home. Kathy's Mother arrived home at around 11 PM and Kathy was not there. Phone calls and car searches by her Mother were fruitless.

Shortly after 7AM the next morning, Kathy was found unconscientious with a severe head injury in a littered field adjacent to the K-Mart Parking Lot on the east side of Georgia Avenue (across the road from Kathy's neighborhood). She had been "sexually assulted but not raped" according to police.

It is my opinion that this was not the result of any accident, or of dangerous horseplay by teenagers. The nature and visciousness of the wounds which led to her death 12 days later was likely the result of a violent attack by a cold and calculating individual who was both experienced and practiced in what he did.

My theory is that Kathy, after not finding her boy friend at home, continued on her walk. Her probable destination was the K-Mart, where her mother said she liked to visit. This would have been some time between 7:30 and 8:30PM - before dark and before K-Mart closing time.

Rather than walking streets and sidewalks to the north, and then having to walk south for a block or two on Georgia Ave, she probably took a common short cut on a path through some woods which led to first an open field and then the driveway/road of the old Vitro Laboratories grounds. This is the current location of Home Depot and the parking lot/ driveway are the same as in 1975. That driveway runs east to Georgia Ave, and immediately across from it is K-Mart.

There is a high fence separating the Vitro Laboratories grounds from Kathy's residential neighbor hood, which runs parallell to this driveway and there is a very deep gully which makes this roadway a virtual "choke point" for anyone watching pedestrian traffic - most of which would be young teens.

An individual who wished to observe young teens walking alone could easily sit in a parked vehicle in the parking lot next to that driveway and wait. And I feel that is what happened.

Almost anyone could have parked there that evening, but one person who had a fondness for young girls, and a history of abuse and violence against children was a guy named Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. - who just happened to work at Vitro Laboratories, and who had a vehicle which he usually parked in that parking lot.

A few days after the attack on Kathy, and after the newspapers stated that she had been found ALIVE and was in the hospital, Fred Howard Coffey suddenly left town without notifying his employer. His later explanation for his departure (when he asked for his last paycheck) was a total lie about his wife and daughter being in a car accident in Kentucky. He liked that story so much that he used it again in a similar situation.

I feel that this is more than just a Big Coincidence.

I also feel that there is a direct link between Kathy's murder and the disappearance of the Lyon Sisters, which occurred only four miles south on Georgia Avenue, and only four months earlier. The idea of an individual waiting in a parked vehicle and observing a "choke point" is a possible common theme in both cases.

 

[Motherof5]

Please go easy on me if my questions have already been answered. Kathy went out to ride her bike. Did she return home at some point to drop off her bike as I've not read that her bike was missing and then found later. Also....she was found barefoot. Were her shoes found at home or were they missing?