Year after rekindling, Despard case remains unsolved
Police revisit potential burial site, looking to speak with suspect’s associate
This time last year, the investigation into the then-34-year-old disappearance of Josephine Cottone Despard seemingly had new life.
The Olean Police Department received an anonymous letter on the anniversary of the young Olean woman’s Feb. 7, 1984, disappearance, and a handful of other tips and a few new interviews followed. The Olean Times Herald even received correspondence from an anonymous emailer claiming to know the general location of where Despard’s remains are allegedly buried.
But now 35 years since Despard was last seen, the cold case remains unsolved.
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Despard, who was 26 and the mother of a 6-year-old girl at the time of her disappearance, was last seen leaving her mother’s North Clinton Street home with a male acquaintance. The 27-year-old Franklinville man was a person of interest, but committed suicide a few months later.
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“We kind of know what happened. We just want to know where she’s at,” said Cottone, who lives in Bradford, Pa. “We want to have her properly buried and put to rest with my mom.”
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Olean Police Capt. Robert Blovsky, who has handled the case for about the last decade, agreed there haven’t been many developments in the last six months.
However, he said he visited the deceased man and his family’s former Franklinville property last summer in search of Despard’s possible burial location. Plus, he’s still hoping to speak with the man’s former female associate.
“This person I want to talk to very well could have the key to moving us along on this,” Blovsky said. “I’m sure that person knows that I want to talk to them. I can’t make them, but I’m hoping that when I pick up the phone or go to their house, they’ll be open to talking to me.”
The Franklinville man, who was previously convicted of raping two women in two separate attacks in Canandaigua, is the last known person to see Despard alive.
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Following the anonymous letter and buzz around the case last year, Blovsky said the man’s surviving family members indicated they had second-hand knowledge of possible burial locations at their former Franklinville property, which was visited by original investigators shortly after Despard’s disappearance.
However, Blovsky said family members could not pinpoint an exact location.
“We met with a person that indicated they could point it out to us. Well, we got up there and no they really couldn’t. It was more like, ‘It’s in the area somewhere,’” Blovsky said. “It would be senseless for us to start digging everywhere. It would just not be possible.”
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A few months after that visit, Cottone said he was disappointed to learn that the Franklinville man’s brother passed away of natural causes. He had hoped the brother would give up more information and or leave a note before his death.
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That’s why it’s all the more important he speaks with the female associate, who Blovsky believes may be one of the last persons alive with knowledge about what happened.
“We already talked to her once and I really need her to open up to us this time,” he said. “I’m tired of having this open.
Year after rekindling, Despard case remains unsolved
