A new blog entry on my New England unsolved blog that I haven't seen mentioned here:
Thirty years ago this week, Theresa Corley was murdered in Bellingham, Massachusetts but the case remains unsolved.
On the night of December 4, 1978 nineteen-year-old Corley and some friends went to a bar in nearby Franklin to celebrate a friend's birthday party. After getting drunk, Corley began fighting with one of the friends and decided to leave the bar. Without any transportation though, she was forced to hitchhike. Three men picked up her up and drove her back to their apartment in Franklin where all three attempted to sexually assault her. She ran out of the apartment with one of her own shoes and one of the assailants shoes. On Route 140, Corley continued hitchhiking. She was picked up by two separate Garelick Farms trucks running their early morning routes. Both drivers reported that Corley was intoxicated. One said that Corley told him she had been sexually assaulted so he dropped her off at the Bellingham Police Department, just one mile from Corley's house. Corley decided not to go into the police station. Instead, she was last seen hitchhiking at 5:30 AM on December 5, just outside the police station.
Two days later, Corley's body was found in a ditch off the northbound side of I-495 on the Bellingham/ Medway line. She had been strangled, most likely with a ligature, and was completely nude. Her jeans and jacket were found beside her. Her top garments and shoes have never been recovered. Her body did not have any drag marks on it, leading investigators to believe that at least two people probably disposed of the body.
The day Corley was found, a man identifying himself as "John Burlington" called into the Bellingham police station on an inside (non-911) line and claimed he was from Connecticut and found a body in a ditch while urinating off the side of highway. Police immediately found this suspicious as someone from Connecticut would not know that the location on I-495 was in Bellingham and he called an inside line which only local residents would know.
Another unusual event happened later that day when a man came into the police station and asked the dispatcher if it was Theresa Corley who had been found in the ditch. This was highly suspicious since it had not been announced over the radio that a body was found in this area. It is believed that "John Burlington" and the man who came into the station are one in the same.
The man who walked into the police station is known to police but police have been unable to link him to the crime. Additionally, the three original attackers who brought Theresa to the apartment have been thoroughly questioned and are not believed to be the murders. They have not, however, been entirely ruled out as suspects.
Anyone with any information about this case should call the Theresa Corley tip hotline at the Norfolk County DA's office at 617-593-8840.
Thirty years ago this week, Theresa Corley was murdered in Bellingham, Massachusetts but the case remains unsolved.
On the night of December 4, 1978 nineteen-year-old Corley and some friends went to a bar in nearby Franklin to celebrate a friend's birthday party. After getting drunk, Corley began fighting with one of the friends and decided to leave the bar. Without any transportation though, she was forced to hitchhike. Three men picked up her up and drove her back to their apartment in Franklin where all three attempted to sexually assault her. She ran out of the apartment with one of her own shoes and one of the assailants shoes. On Route 140, Corley continued hitchhiking. She was picked up by two separate Garelick Farms trucks running their early morning routes. Both drivers reported that Corley was intoxicated. One said that Corley told him she had been sexually assaulted so he dropped her off at the Bellingham Police Department, just one mile from Corley's house. Corley decided not to go into the police station. Instead, she was last seen hitchhiking at 5:30 AM on December 5, just outside the police station.
Two days later, Corley's body was found in a ditch off the northbound side of I-495 on the Bellingham/ Medway line. She had been strangled, most likely with a ligature, and was completely nude. Her jeans and jacket were found beside her. Her top garments and shoes have never been recovered. Her body did not have any drag marks on it, leading investigators to believe that at least two people probably disposed of the body.
The day Corley was found, a man identifying himself as "John Burlington" called into the Bellingham police station on an inside (non-911) line and claimed he was from Connecticut and found a body in a ditch while urinating off the side of highway. Police immediately found this suspicious as someone from Connecticut would not know that the location on I-495 was in Bellingham and he called an inside line which only local residents would know.
Another unusual event happened later that day when a man came into the police station and asked the dispatcher if it was Theresa Corley who had been found in the ditch. This was highly suspicious since it had not been announced over the radio that a body was found in this area. It is believed that "John Burlington" and the man who came into the station are one in the same.
The man who walked into the police station is known to police but police have been unable to link him to the crime. Additionally, the three original attackers who brought Theresa to the apartment have been thoroughly questioned and are not believed to be the murders. They have not, however, been entirely ruled out as suspects.
Anyone with any information about this case should call the Theresa Corley tip hotline at the Norfolk County DA's office at 617-593-8840.
