PA PA - Betsy Aardsma, 22, murdered in Pattee Library, Penn State, 29 Nov 1969

[JaimeSommers]

My Aunt was at Penn State at the time of Betsy's murder.
All she remembers is the library having a section blocked off and off limits for a bit.
I know it sounds callous, but the school apparently didn't make a big deal out of it.

BBM ... I've worked at Penn State for more than twenty years. This doesn't surprise me one bit. [emoji383] [emoji383] [emoji35]

 

[J. J. in Phila]

My Aunt was at Penn State at the time of Betsy's murder.
All she remembers is the library having a section blocked off and off limits for a bit.
I know it sounds callous, but the school apparently didn't make a big deal out of it.

There was a fair amount of publicity at the time; there was a well publicized reward and the PSP set up substation on campus. PSU had tried to minimize it recent years, including removing on-line information.

 

[morf13]

Such a fascinating case. Lots of intriguing aspects to it, I still think Richard Haefner is the best Suspect

 

[Honey_West]

'After 45 years, the unsolved murder of Betsy Aardsma in Penn State library remains a mystery'...


http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/12/45_years_murder_in_the_stacks.html

 

[Satch]

Facinating case!

It seems that the suspect in this story is most likely considered to be Betsy's killer:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/loc...cle_8f21c2e9-fbfc-5e28-aa5b-f93e046975bc.html

Satch

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Facinating case!

It seems that the suspect in this story is most likely considered to be Betsy's killer:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/loc...cle_8f21c2e9-fbfc-5e28-aa5b-f93e046975bc.html

Satch

There is a very good book which names Haefner called Who Killed Betsy. http://www.amazon.com/Who-Killed-Betsy-Uncovering-Universitys/dp/0615498116

 

[Pettibon Junction]

I've spent the past two weeks reading through this thread, as well as "Murder in the Stacks." DeKok and Sherwood have both made good cases for Haefner and it seems a sure thing that he did it, but I can't shake Betsy's English 501 classmate Larry Maurer. We know Maurer was in the core that evening and he was identified as one of the suspicious men seen talking there. But if the other man was Rick Haefner, why didn't Maurer volunteer this info to the police during any one of the numerous interviews they conducted with him? The two were briefly roommates, but it doesn't seem as though they were especially close and surely, if law enforcement had homed in on him as a suspect and seemed dead-set on building a case for at least two years following the murder, wouldn't it make sense for Maurer to have given up Haefner as a possible POI?

Of course, Haefner is described as a repressed and tightly-wound individual. Perhaps Maurer didn't think his ex-roomie had it in him. But in what essentially amounts to a closed-room mystery, he would have known he was there, and that's not nothing. Opportunity is everything when it comes to crime and if the heat on Maurer was as serious as it appears to have been, it would have made a lot of sense to dime on Haefner.

There are other reasons why Maurer nags at me. He was, by the accounts of classmates, an odd duck himself and utterly fixated on Betsy, who had rejected his advances. He was known to have carried a knife and as a country boy and avid hunter, his knowledge of basic anatomy would have been refined enough to kill with a single wound. Plus there's the military angle: Maurer was active in ROTC and abruptly left Penn State after Betsy's murder to enlist in the army. A bayonet could have done the job Betsy's killer did on her, easy.

Haefner was a creep, there's no question about that. But he was also sloppy. In his one documented act of violence against women, he attacked a woman following a highly public argument in a liquor store parking lot. Granted, this was nearly 30 years later, but it's a far cry from the person who slipped a knife into Betsy Aardsma's heart without so much as a whisper. Plus he was a known pederast, having molested scores of boys dating back to his teen years. It's difficult to reconcile such proclivities with a killer who would grab a woman's chest from behind and stick a blade under her left breast. There's an undeniable sexuality to that, one at odds with what we know about Rick Haefner's inclinations and in that way, he reminds me of Arthur Leigh Allen, Robert Graysmith and Vallejo PD's suspect in the Zodiac murders, a series of a cruel blitz attacks on young couples in lovers' lanes, almost clinical in their detachment, and followed by taunting letters and ciphers. Allen was also a convicted pedophile who, like Haefner, had little to no sexual interest in women his own age.

Dekok speculates that Betsy suspected something was off about Rick Haefner, that she referred to Haefner's creepiness in phone calls and letters home, and that Rick was angry at having been spurned, seeking her to act as a "beard," career-obsessed as he was, and that he'd attempted to make this sort of connection with other women in the past. (None of whom he ever attacked, mind you.) Maybe she knew exactly what he was but, if that was the case, I'd imagine she would have told someone about it, even reported him to the proper authorities. (Betsy's sense of justice was incredibly strong.) But this never happened.

And still, we have Maurer, the weird classmate, with his dual obsessions with death and Betsy Aardsma, who was suspected by police and later "disappeared" (DeKok's word) into the army and, later, the National Security Agency. I have read numerous posts conjecturing that Betsy's murder was a thrill-killing, something akin to Leopold and Loeb (who, incidentally, also betrayed their own sexuality in their attempt to perpetrate the perfect murder.) This could be. But what if it was also practice? A dry run from a guy more accustomed to dressing deer than bayonetting guerrillas and who wanted to make his bones before shipping out to Saigon? And what if, in his choice of a victim, he too betrayed something damningly personal?

In the end, it was probably Haefner, and perhaps I'll feel even more certain when I finish the book. But for the reasons listed above, I can't shake Maurer.

 

[Pettibon Junction]

I'm close to being finished with the DeKok book. I expect I will tonight. Seemingly, the author, high as he is on Haefner, can't help but return to Maurer in the closing pages. He describes a meeting between the onetime suspect and retired PA state police investigator John Shambach. According to Shambach's account Maurer was, nearly 30 years later, still evasive, still coy, almost enjoying himself. He never outright denies involvement, instead positing rhetorical questions ("Why would I kill her? What would I kill her for?") and, though this may not mean anything, failing to make eye contact when confronted with Betsy's very name.

There's talk in the first part of this thread about a creepy shrine containing (apparently) original press clippings covering the Aardsma murder set up in the core on the 25th anniversary of Betsy's death. Maurer had just returned from an overseas NSA assignment in 1994 and the above-mentioned interview also took place that year.

Like I said, I just can't shake this guy.

 

[Ozoner]

I'm close to being finished with the DeKok book. I expect I will tonight. Seemingly, the author, high as he is on Haefner, can't help but return to Maurer in the closing pages. He describes a meeting between the onetime suspect and retired PA state police investigator John Shambach. According to Shambach's account Maurer was, nearly 30 years later, still evasive, still coy, almost enjoying himself. He never outright denies involvement, instead positing rhetorical questions ("Why would I kill her? What would I kill her for?") and, though this may not mean anything, failing to make eye contact when confronted with Betsy's very name.

There's talk in the first part of this thread about a creepy shrine containing (apparently) original press clippings covering the Aardsma murder set up in the core on the 25th anniversary of Betsy's death. Maurer had just returned from an overseas NSA assignment in 1994 and the above-mentioned interview also took place that year.

Like I said, I just can't shake this guy.

Do you know whether Maurer is still alive? I haven't read the book, but based on what I've read in this thread, I wouldn't rule him out either.

 

[morf13]

Don't forget, years after Betsy's murder, a cruel insensitive letter was mailed to the school postmarked from Atlanta. It read, "you never did catch the guy that killed that c**t in the library did you?"

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Do you know whether Maurer is still alive? I haven't read the book, but based on what I've read in this thread, I wouldn't rule him out either.

He is with the NSA and you cannot even find him in the alumni directory, but I think he is out there.

 

[Pink Panther]

Bumping for Betsy.

 

[Richard]

Bumping this cold case up. It has been 47 years...

 

[CarlK90245]

Several months ago, I was reading up on this case, and noticed that Betsy was originally from Holland Michigan, and that is where she is buried. Since I am very much involved in the investigation into the 1989 disappearance of Aundria M Bowman (who lived in Holland at various points in her life), that caught my interest. I located her FindAGrave entry and saw that she was buried in Pilgrim Home Cemetery in Holland. When I looked up the cemetery, I was surprised to see that it is located two blocks from the motel that I always stay at when I'm in Holland.

I was in Holland last week, so when I had the spare time, I took a trip over to Pilgrim Home Cemetery and located Betsy's Grave.

She is located in plot PH-2-D-00058-012, just to the right of the graves of her parents.

 

[J.M. Bee]

One thing I do not understand about this case is how or why the two students who saw the suspect fleeing the library stacks were not more helpful. Shouldn't they have been able to describe him in some detail? Shouldn't they have been able to help produce a composite sketch? In all likelihood the killer was one of two graduate students at Penn State in 1969, and the police were not able to figure this out? I don't know, it seems like fairly poor investigative work to me.

 

[Pettibon Junction]

There was a composite sketch drawn.

 

[michaelbeifeld]

I wonder if a Sandusky link was ever investigated. I know it sounds very far-fetched but hear me out.

Sandusky was definitely at the school during that time. And along with the countless accusations he’s had against him dating a span of several decades, there are some as far back as when he was a student there in the 60s. While those were not alleged to have occurred at PSU specifically, it was during the time when he was a student there. He was also linked to at least one notorious sexual predator from Philadelphia in the 1980s, Eddie Savitz. Savitz’s MO was to give cash and sporting tickets in exchange for sexual favors to underage boys. It’s been determined that Savitz was sending kids to Penn State and Five Mile events in a possible grooming/trafficking/swap program.

If Sandusky were to be linked to Haefner as well, then perhaps we could see if this angle that plays out...Aardsma discovers Haefner is a deviant creep and that he is in cahoots with Sandusky in some kind of pedophelia ring, the two decide she can’t live to tell about it, they have her killed.

I’m a PSU grad and this case fascinates me. Furthermore, as we can tell from this thread and from the news over the years, a lot of weird **** happens up at PSU...Aardsma, Sandusky, Ray Gricar...you never know.

 

[Pettibon Junction]

I wonder if a Sandusky link was ever investigated. I know it sounds very far-fetched but hear me out.

Sandusky was definitely at the school during that time. And along with the countless accusations he’s had against him dating a span of several decades, there are some as far back as when he was a student there in the 60s. While those were not alleged to have occurred at PSU specifically, it was during the time when he was a student there. He was also linked to at least one notorious sexual predator from Philadelphia in the 1980s, Eddie Savitz. Savitz’s MO was to give cash and sporting tickets in exchange for sexual favors to underage boys. It’s been determined that Savitz was sending kids to Penn State and Five Mile events in a possible grooming/trafficking/swap program.

If Sandusky were to be linked to Haefner as well, then perhaps we could see if this angle that plays out...Aardsma discovers Haefner is a deviant creep and that he is in cahoots with Sandusky in some kind of pedophelia ring, the two decide she can’t live to tell about it, they have her killed.

I’m a PSU grad and this case fascinates me. Furthermore, as we can tell from this thread and from the news over the years, a lot of weird **** happens up at PSU...Aardsma, Sandusky, Ray Gricar...you never know.

I’m not entirely convinced Haefner is the guy. He was a creep, but one who was into little boys. Those sorts don’t tend to murder women.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I wonder if a Sandusky link was ever investigated. I know it sounds very far-fetched but hear me out.

Sandusky was definitely at the school during that time. And along with the countless accusations he’s had against him dating a span of several decades, there are some as far back as when he was a student there in the 60s. While those were not alleged to have occurred at PSU specifically, it was during the time when he was a student there. He was also linked to at least one notorious sexual predator from Philadelphia in the 1980s, Eddie Savitz. Savitz’s MO was to give cash and sporting tickets in exchange for sexual favors to underage boys. It’s been determined that Savitz was sending kids to Penn State and Five Mile events in a possible grooming/trafficking/swap program.

If Sandusky were to be linked to Haefner as well, then perhaps we could see if this angle that plays out...Aardsma discovers Haefner is a deviant creep and that he is in cahoots with Sandusky in some kind of pedophelia ring, the two decide she can’t live to tell about it, they have her killed.

I’m a PSU grad and this case fascinates me. Furthermore, as we can tell from this thread and from the news over the years, a lot of weird **** happens up at PSU...Aardsma, Sandusky, Ray Gricar...you never know.

Sandusky was there, but he was on the coaching staff at that point. It is doubtful that they would have met. He was married at that point, so I doubt if he was living in a dorm.

There has never been a genuine link between Savitz and Sandusky. Also, consider that there was a Second Mile program in the Philadelphia area. I have never heard of Sandusky having imported victims from Philadelphia.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Respectfully snipped and bolded.

I've spent the past two weeks reading through this thread, as well as "Murder in the Stacks." DeKok and Sherwood have both made good cases for Haefner and it seems a sure thing that he did it, but I can't shake Betsy's English 501 classmate Larry Maurer. We know Maurer was in the core that evening and he was identified as one of the suspicious men seen talking there. But if the other man was Rick Haefner, why didn't Maurer volunteer this info to the police during any one of the numerous interviews they conducted with him? The two were briefly roommates, but it doesn't seem as though they were especially close and surely, if law enforcement had homed in on him as a suspect and seemed dead-set on building a case for at least two years following the murder, wouldn't it make sense for Maurer to have given up Haefner as a possible POI?

It is possible that Maurer never saw Haefner, even if both were there.

Two points:

1. I was there 15 years later, and the stacks were huge. It is possible that both men were in there, but never saw each other. Books block the view.

2. I don't know what Maurer's major was, but he was in the class with Aardsma; he could turn up in the same section because of that. Haefner, however, was a geology major, and the geology section was across campus in Deike.

That last line is key. At c. 6:00, Haefner arrived at Wright's house and told Wright that Aardsma had been killed. Aardsma's was discovered at c. 5:00 PM. He would have almost have to have been in Patee to get that information.