MI MI - Gail Webster, 48, brutally beaten, Troy, 28 Oct 1978

[Nina Michigan]

48 year old Gail Webster, a manager at the popular Woodward Ave Suzy Q restaurant in Royal Oak was found beaten to death in her apartment, at the popular Somerset Apartments in Troy.

Her boyfriend, former husband, three daughters, neighbors and a former boyfriend were scrutinized and cleared. Gail was a well liked and trusted employee at Suzy Q, she worked the day shift and handled scheduling.

In the mid 1990's her remains were exhumed so that additional evidence could be collected.

Troy Police are actively seeking new leads in the case 248-524-3277 - Detective Bureau

 

[Nina Michigan]

Photo of Gail Webster

 

[Nina Michigan]

News coverage is starting

WDIV - Click on Detroit

 

[Luckyzmom]

@Nina Michigan Thanks very much

 

[dotr]

Oct 6 2020
Police revisit mysterious fatal beating of mother in Troy apartment from 42 years ago

Police revisit mysterious fatal beating of mother in Troy apartment from 42 years ago
Gail Webster killed at apartment on Dorchester Drive in October 1978

Gail Webster was murdered at this Troy apartment building on Oct. 28, 1978, police said. (Troy Police Department

''Suspicious incident
Police said on Oct. 2, 1978, about four weeks before the murder, Webster’s 25-year-old daughter went to Piper’s Alley, which was a bar previously located at 3250 West Big Beaver Road.
Her apartment keys were stolen from her car while she was at the bar, officials said. Later that evening, while the daughter was still out, Webster heard someone jostling her apartment door handle, police said.''

''Webster’s daughter reported seeing two men in a suspicious vehicle in the bar parking lot the night the keys were stolen, police said.''
''They were 20-25 years old, and the car was a blue or green 1968-1970 Pontiac Tempest or Chevrolet. It was beat up and rusted, according to authorities.''

''On the morning of the murder, the daughter saw what she believed to be the same vehicle on Dorchester Drive near Coolidge Highway, she told police. The driver had blonde hair.''
''The driver was described as a 25-year-old white man standing about 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds with black, curly hair. He was last seen wearing an Army jacket, authorities said.''

 

[Nina Michigan]

I covered Gail's case in an episode of the podcast. The episode was created at the request of Troy Police

Gail with her grandchild:

 

[Richard]

Who killed Gail Webster? Troy police tweet about 1978 cold case in the hopes of new tips
CHRISTY STRAWSER
OCTOBER 07, 2020

Gail Webster, 48, murdered 28 October 1978

... Webster, then 48, was found murdered, beaten to death with a blunt object, in her home in Troy on Oct. 28, 1978. Her killer was never caught.

The twitter thread describes Webster as a friendly well-liked woman who managed the popular Susie-Q restaurant near 13 and Woodward, a cruiser hotspot.

"Gail had no history or involvement in any type of criminal or illicit activity," police said. She lived in a low crime area.

She had three men in her life, an ex-husband, ex-boyfriend and current boyfriend, and after she was killed all of them were cleared of the crime. So, who killed Webster ... and why? The mystery remains.
Webster, then 48, was found murdered, beaten to death with a blunt object, in her home in Troy on Oct. 28, 1978. Her killer was never caught.

The twitter thread describes Webster as a friendly well-liked woman who managed the popular Susie-Q restaurant near 13 and Woodward, a cruiser hotspot.

"Gail had no history or involvement in any type of criminal or illicit activity," police said. She lived in a low crime area.

She had three men in her life, an ex-husband, ex-boyfriend and current boyfriend, and after she was killed all of them were cleared of the crime. So, who killed Webster ... and why? The mystery remains...

... Will new technology bring Webster's killer to justice? Police say they hope so. But justice could also be served in the form of a tip from the public.

Anyone with information on Webster's death should call Troy police at 248-524-3777.

LINK:

Who killed Gail Webster? Troy police tweet about 1978 cold case in the hopes of new tips

 

[JerseyGirl]

42 years later, mystery of who killed Gail Webster in Troy remains unsolved

 

[dotr]

Oct 8 2020

 

[Richard]

It is a good possibility that the actual target of Gail Webster's assailants was one of her daughters, and Gail was the only one home at the time.

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

It is a good possibility that the actual target of Gail Webster's assailants was one of her daughters, and Gail was the only one home at the time.

Good possibility. Did the 25 year old daughter hang out in bars often?

I'd also give a good look to her co workers and subordinates

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Retired Detroit News columnist Marney Rich Keenan understands the anguish of grieving families looking for answers.

As author of the 2020 book “The Snow Killings,” on the Oakland County child murders of the 1970s, Keenan delved deeply into the emotional toll that cold cases extract on loved ones, police investigators and potential suspects.

So when the family of Gail Webster reached out, she listened with interest to their tale of another cold case connected to the Oakland County killings.

Search for a mother's killer: A serial in five parts

In a five-part series, The News delves into a family’s odyssey to keep their mother’s memory alive by piecing together clues of her death.

www.detroitnews.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Gail Webster worked for 15 years as a hostess and day manager at the popular Susie-Q restaurant in Royal Oak where she was well-liked and respected. She had been divorced from her husband for three years after a 24-year marriage. Her daughters and grandchildren adored her.

Yet the pandemic that brought misery to so many brought hope to the family of Gail Webster. With a diminished investigative workload in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, a Troy lieutenant decided to give Webster’s case a fresh look.

With it came discoveries, including a possible murder weapon in police custody. And the possibility that renewed attention — and DNA evidence — might finally lead to the killer.

It’s an accounting they initially feared might never come. That’s because Webster’s family insist they now know why the case had initially reached a dead end: the fix was in long ago.

Relentless: Daughters refuse to let mother’s unsolved murder fade into past

The pandemic provides new hope of finding the killer in 1978 murder of Gail Webster of Troy.

www.detroitnews.com

 

[Richard]

Click on image to enlarge.

 

[Nina Michigan]

From reading the piece in the Detroit News it sounds like their main suspect is long deceased. He was an ATF agent who was briefly considered in the OCCK murders.