OkieGranny
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SOLVED MD - Heather Porter, 13, murdered by John Anthony Petrecca, Jr, Woodlawn, 22 Sept 1981
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tenderwarrior
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8 1/2-hour gap a problem in death probe - The Baltimore Sun, Sept. 25, 1981
Did she hitchhike? Or did she get a ride with a friend? And what did she do in the 8 1/2 hours between the time she left her Lansdowne house after an argument and when a man walking his dog found her body near a Towson road?
Those were the prime lines for questioning yesterday by members of the Baltimore county police homicide unit assigned to investigate the mysterious death of Heather Ann Porter, 13, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Porter, of Hazel avenue in Lansdowne.
The first of those questions -- did she hitchhike? -- could complicate the investigation into who killed her, police spokesman E. Jay Miller said.
"If she hitchhiked and the driver was her assailant," he said, "We've got a real problem. It could have been anybody that time of night."
But Mr. Miller did not rule out the possibility that Heather had been transported by a friend or acquaintance. He would say little else about the police investigation.
Police said after Heather's body was discovered that they believed she had been strangled, a fact confirmed yesterday by a state medical examiner who also ruled that the death was a homicide.
Heather was last seen alive -- except by her assailant -- about 10:30pm Tuesday by her mother, police said. At that time, the girl was leaving her Lansdowne house.
Her body, carrying no identification, was found behind some bushes about 7am Wednesday, police said, by a man walking his dog at Ridgewood road near Goucher boulevard.
Heather's identity remained a mystery Wednesday until a girl friend, who had seen a televised report of the crime, called police and said the victim might have been her friend.
Police said Heather's father subsequently identified his daughter's body.
She had shoulder-length reddish brown hair, was about 5 feet 3 inches tall, and was wearing olive pants and a light blue, striped pullover. She also had on a silver necklace with a metallic marijuana leaf, police said.
The victim was a daytime student at the Good Shepherd Center in Halethorpe, which the Catholic Sisters of the Good Shepherd operates for teenage girls with behavioral problems. She had transferred to the school, which has some resident students, last year.
Zita Kiratli, the center's admissions director, said yesterday that the school's staff and students "are very distressed" over Heather's murder.
Mr. and Mrs. Porter were unavailable for comment yesterday, but neighbors said the Porter family was relatively new to the Lansdowne neighborhood.
"We were shocked," said Mrs. William J. Schemer, a next-door neighbor. "All summer long, we'd see the girl in the backyard playing -- and now this. It's a shame, just a shame, what happens nowadays."
(Accessed through the Baltimore Sun Online Archive at Enoch Pratt Free Library)
Did she hitchhike? Or did she get a ride with a friend? And what did she do in the 8 1/2 hours between the time she left her Lansdowne house after an argument and when a man walking his dog found her body near a Towson road?
Those were the prime lines for questioning yesterday by members of the Baltimore county police homicide unit assigned to investigate the mysterious death of Heather Ann Porter, 13, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Porter, of Hazel avenue in Lansdowne.
The first of those questions -- did she hitchhike? -- could complicate the investigation into who killed her, police spokesman E. Jay Miller said.
"If she hitchhiked and the driver was her assailant," he said, "We've got a real problem. It could have been anybody that time of night."
But Mr. Miller did not rule out the possibility that Heather had been transported by a friend or acquaintance. He would say little else about the police investigation.
Police said after Heather's body was discovered that they believed she had been strangled, a fact confirmed yesterday by a state medical examiner who also ruled that the death was a homicide.
Heather was last seen alive -- except by her assailant -- about 10:30pm Tuesday by her mother, police said. At that time, the girl was leaving her Lansdowne house.
Her body, carrying no identification, was found behind some bushes about 7am Wednesday, police said, by a man walking his dog at Ridgewood road near Goucher boulevard.
Heather's identity remained a mystery Wednesday until a girl friend, who had seen a televised report of the crime, called police and said the victim might have been her friend.
Police said Heather's father subsequently identified his daughter's body.
She had shoulder-length reddish brown hair, was about 5 feet 3 inches tall, and was wearing olive pants and a light blue, striped pullover. She also had on a silver necklace with a metallic marijuana leaf, police said.
The victim was a daytime student at the Good Shepherd Center in Halethorpe, which the Catholic Sisters of the Good Shepherd operates for teenage girls with behavioral problems. She had transferred to the school, which has some resident students, last year.
Zita Kiratli, the center's admissions director, said yesterday that the school's staff and students "are very distressed" over Heather's murder.
Mr. and Mrs. Porter were unavailable for comment yesterday, but neighbors said the Porter family was relatively new to the Lansdowne neighborhood.
"We were shocked," said Mrs. William J. Schemer, a next-door neighbor. "All summer long, we'd see the girl in the backyard playing -- and now this. It's a shame, just a shame, what happens nowadays."
(Accessed through the Baltimore Sun Online Archive at Enoch Pratt Free Library)
Heather Ann Porter
1981 Homicide Victim
Just before 7 a.m. on September 23, 1981, a man walking his dog near a wooded area at Ridgewood Road and Goucher Boulevard in Towson discovered the body of a 13-year-old girl. The girl, Heather Porter, had been missing from her home in the unit block of Hazel Avenue in Woodlawn since the night before.
The condition of Porter’s body at the scene led investigators to believe that she had been drug into the woods. An autopsy later concluded that she had been strangled. DNA was recovered from Porter’s body but a match was never made. Detectives have conducted a thorough investigation into the incident but have not been able to positively identify a suspect in this case.
Reward Offered
Metro Crime Stoppers, an organization that is separate from the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Government, offers rewards for information in connection with felony offenses. Anonymous tips can be sent to Metro Crime Stoppers by phone, text message or online.
Phone: 1-866-7LOCKUP
Text message: Text "MCS" plus your message to "CRIMES" (274637)
Web tip: www.metrocrimestoppers.org
1981 Homicide Victim
Just before 7 a.m. on September 23, 1981, a man walking his dog near a wooded area at Ridgewood Road and Goucher Boulevard in Towson discovered the body of a 13-year-old girl. The girl, Heather Porter, had been missing from her home in the unit block of Hazel Avenue in Woodlawn since the night before.
The condition of Porter’s body at the scene led investigators to believe that she had been drug into the woods. An autopsy later concluded that she had been strangled. DNA was recovered from Porter’s body but a match was never made. Detectives have conducted a thorough investigation into the incident but have not been able to positively identify a suspect in this case.
Reward Offered
Metro Crime Stoppers, an organization that is separate from the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Government, offers rewards for information in connection with felony offenses. Anonymous tips can be sent to Metro Crime Stoppers by phone, text message or online.
Phone: 1-866-7LOCKUP
Text message: Text "MCS" plus your message to "CRIMES" (274637)
Web tip: www.metrocrimestoppers.org
sds71
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Great news!!!
New DNA technology have allowed police to conclusively identify John Anthony Petrecca, Jr., who had been arrested for rape in the 1960s and 1970s, as the suspect.
Petrecca, who died in 2000, lived on Ridge Avenue in Halethorpe at the time of the murder, close to where Heather lived.
Detectives had a DNA sample from Petrecca at the time of the murder, but DNA results didn't identify him as a possible suspect until February 2021.
Good question. I'm going to do a little digging.
DNASolves
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