scriptgirl
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2009
- Messages
- 1,565
- Reaction score
- 556
Did the navy prosecute him? I mean, they seem so hands off.
Did the navy prosecute him? I mean, they seem so hands off.
I wonder what the rumors were re the "strange" wounds Kathy had on her hands.
As to the level of violence: many rumors circulated. I don't want to repeat them but there was a significant rumor circulated about violence to hands and feet, with elaborations as time went on and rumors circulated. These were attributed to the heinous and perverted violence of the alleged perpetrator. Let's just say that the rumors came right out of twisted modern scream horror movies involving freaks with tool-kits. But let me say something else.
When I was 10 or so, we had an exercise bike in the basement. I was bored, and turned off the resistance brake, and pumped up the wheel to full speed. I got careless and one of the pedals kicked my heel and my foot went into the spoked wheel. When family rushed me to the hospital, my toe was hanging on by a thread. But it wasn't the result of diabolical torture. It was the result of someone getting caught in a machine. It was not the brutality of a criminal.
There has been some discussion about this case in the Cold Case section of Websleuths, and it includes a link to the Montgomery County Police website. There is a photo of the keys found next to Kathy Lynn Beatty's purse.
The keyring was one of those round ones with a black leather fob attatched. Only two keys are on it.
One key is a Schlage brand house key of the kind that goes into a door knob. This would be the kind used in houses in the 1960's thru mid 1970's.
The other key is a GM ignition key. The website describes it as belonging to a 1972 General Motors vehicle. GM changed key blanks each year, so that usually you cannot even stick the key from one year model into the lock or ignition of the next year model.
This may be one of those times when the LACK of evidence may mean something. There is NO vehicle door lock key on the ring. This could mean that the vehicle was a pick-up truck or maybe a van. I am researching that possibility.
Eldon,
Thanks for your comments, and welcome to this forum discussion.
It has never been proven that the keys found near Kathy Lynn Beatty actually belonged to her attacker, but it is a good possibility.
The Schlage key was used in the locks of external door knobs of houses in 1975 and earlier. It went out of style by the late 1970's or early 1980's. I had that type of keyed lock on a house built in 1976, and when I needed to replace a broken door knob in the 80's, I could not find that style anywhere.
That type of Schlage key was not commonly used on commercial type buildings, such as motels or stores. Also, it was not often used on internal doors like for offices or classrooms. It was primarily a key to a house door.
General Motors vehicles from the late 1960's through 1975 (and later) had two keys usually, the one with the rectangular head was for the ignition and and the second one with an oval head was used for the trunk and doors. An exception to this was that pick-up trucks and (for some years) vans employed only the one (rectangular) key for ignition and door locks. That is why I think that this key was for a truck or van, rather than a car.
The keys did not belong to Kathy. At age 14, she did not drive. She was, that evening, in and out of her house while her mother was away, so it is possible that she had a key to her own home. No word on whether or not she had any keys on her when she was found.
Also I wonder if the detectives at the time thought to go around to locksmiths and places that could make keys asking about their recent customers who needed new keys made of those two types. Surely if the keys did belong to the perp he would have encountered issues when he lost them. Maybe not able to get back in his house or car. Or maybe having to ask a relative or friend to bring over the spare keys he had left with them?? Maybe they could have gone on tv asking if anyone had recently had such an interaction involving lost keys. It's somewhat of a long shot but honestly probably one of the few concrete angles they could have gone after.