And for the person that was asking for info, here’s a few articles I’ve collected :
Dennis Michael Clougherty
On Monday, August 12, 1974, sometime between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and midnight, someone shot 23-year-old Dennis Clougherty five times in the chest and left his body along Union Road, south of First Street in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
A passing motorist discovered the body early the following morning about 100 yards off U.S. Route 20 in Black Hawk County.
Twenty minutes later, some of Clougherty’s personal belongings were located approximately five miles south on Viking Road, including the college student’s backpack, motorcycle helmet and clothes bag.
A coroner’s report indicated Clougherty died from five gunshot wounds to his body.
A Vietnam vet preparing to begin his last year of graduate school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Clougherty left Madison around 4 p.m. Monday with plans to hitchhike to Torrington, Wyoming, to retrieve his motorcycle and then ride it back to Detroit, Michigan, to attend a weekend family wedding. Clougherty’s motorcycle had broken down in Torrington earlier that year and he’d left it behind for repairs.
Clougherty’s route from Madison to Dubuque was never determined, but an investigation confirmed a motorist picked him up around 7 p.m. Monday while traveling westbound on Highway 20 near Dubuque, and gave him a ride to Independence, Iowa, dropping off Clougherty at a café there around 8:15 p.m.
Clougherty ate at the [then] Rush Park Café and left Independence around 9:15 p.m., hitchhiking westbound on Highway 20. Another motorist picked him up and drove him to Waterloo, dropping him off at the Highway 20 and Highway 63 intersection.
Around 10:30 p.m., two men — both in their early 20s and driving a brownish/gold 1962-1964 Chevrolet with a beige interior — picked up Clougherty at the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Broadway Street.
Clougherty was never seen alive again and died about 30 to 45 minutes later along Union Road.
Officials didn’t consider robbery a motive, as Clougherty’s billfold still contained $80 and his backpack’s contents were left undisturbed. Police said there was no property missing from his person, and that they’d not determined a motive for the killing or identified any suspects in the case.
Notes:
The two men were possibly driving a four-door.
Exact time body found was 6:18 a.m., August 13, 1974
Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Moved to Venuzuela ages 7-9, Hometown of Allison, Pennsylvania, Lived in Madison, Wisconsin, and died in Cedar Falls, Iowa
Find a grave.
Dennis Michael Clougherty was born Jan. 31, 1951, in Plainfield, New Jersey to Mark A. and Mary Florence (Askin) Clougherty.
He was a 1968 graduate of Bishop’s Latin School in Pittsburgh and a 1971 graduate of Dayton University with a BS in Industrial Engineering.
At Dayton, he served as president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers student chapter. An honor student, Dennis was active in student government and a member of the Junior Industrial Engineering Program sponsored by Eastman Kodak.
His parents said while in Dayton, he had done urban redevelopment work in ghetto areas.
After graduating from Dayton, Dennis joined the U.S. Navy in 1972, where he won the American Spirit Honor Medal. During one year in the Navy he advanced to the rank of seaman second class.
In 1973, Dennis entered graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, studying Urban Redevelopment and Planning on a grant he’d received based on recommendations from his Dayton teachers.
He would have graduated the following year with his master’s degree in industrial engineering.
In addition to his parents, survivors included five brothers, M. James, Christopher D., Brian P., John A., and Michael J., all at home.
Dennis was buried at Allegheny County Memorial Park Cemetery in Allison Park, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
His parents passed away — his father in 2010 and his mother in 2011 — without ever seeing their son’s case solved.
August 19, 1974 Pennsylvania newspaper describing the first details in the case
A University of Wisconsin graduate student from Hampton Township was found shot to death and abandoned in a ditch along a highway near Cedar Falls, Iowa, it was learned yesterday. Dennis Clougherty, 23, of 2423 Tanglewood Drive in the Northwood Acres section of the township, was found about 100 yards off U. S. Route 20 in Blackhawk County Tuesday morning, according to Hampton Township Police Lt. Chester Kline. Police said Clougherty was, slain by three bullet wounds in the stomach, apparently inflicted by a small hand gun. After the shooting, police believe t h e killer or killers transported the body to the area, then dragged and dumped the body. THE AREA WHERE the body was found was about 200 miles from Clougherty's apartment in Madison, Wise. The coroner's office in Black-hawk said the slaying apparently happened the previous night. His backpack and motorcycle helmet were found near the body, leading police to believe that Clougherty was ei-t h e r hitchhiking or riding with a friend to Wyoming to pick up his motorcycle which was being repaired. It broke down while Clougherty was traveling on vacation through the western states in June, so he sent his dad a Father's Day card from there. He w a s last seen by his family during a visit home t w o weeks ago. He would have graduated next year with a master of science degree in industrial engineering.
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