NH NH- Catherine 'Cathy' Millican, 26, stabbed over 20x as she photographed birds at the Chandler Brook Wetland preserve, New London, 24 Oct. 1978

[dotr]

'Oct 24, 2023
The 1978 fatal stabbing of a woman in New London remains unsolved.'

1978 stabbing of woman in New London remains unsolved

Forty-five years ago, officials said Catherine Millican, 22, was photographing birds in New London when she was stabbed for than 20 times.

www.wmur.com

''Millican's case has been popularly linked to a series of unsolved killings in the Connecticut River Valley in the 1970s and 1980s. Cold Case Unit officials don’t believe the cases are connected but said that possibility can’t be investigated fully until one of the cases is solved.''

Catherine Millican | Cold Case Unit | NH Department of Justice

The 1978 unsolved homicide of Catherine Millican.

www.doj.nh.gov

The 1978 unsolved homicide of Catherine Millican.​

Year of Death or Disappearance: 1978
City/Town: New London
Status: Unsolved Homicide
On October 24, 1978 Catherine Millican, age 26, was photographing birds at the Chandler Brook Wetland preserve in New London, NH, when she was stabbed over 20 times. Her body was found just yards from where she had been taking photographs of the birds.
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[snooptroop88]

I don't think these cases are all connected, either, I think there are multiple killers.

Just noting, Cathy's from Sunapee. That's part of the Georges Mills area, correct? That's where Rodney Alcala worked as a camp counselor in summers of '69, '70, and '71. He worked at an arts and drama camp for girls. Alcala was teaching filmmakng at the camp. Cathy was 26 when she was murdered in '78, and I know she was into photography. She'd have been 17, 18, 19 yo respectively for the years when they think he was at this camp. Any chance Cathy would have attended/worked at this camp in some capacity in this timeframe? Because many on here speculate Alcala was actually back in NY in 1978, and it does appear to be possible, I don't know about likely, though.

I'm wondering how widely known it would have been that people associated with the camp had been the ones who ended up at one point tipping Alcala in. If he was aware of it, maybe he purposely returned there. And if people at the camp were generally unaware of it (the tip from the camp), maybe he returned nonetheless to do some visiting. I know Cathy worked for a publishing company, Alcala around that time had been employed as a typesetter at a prominent newspaper. Agreed it's unlikely he murdered Cathy, but I would never say impossible unless we can pinpoint his whereabouts for that timeframe, and it doesn't appear that's been done so far. He used a variety of methods to commit his crimes, including stabbing.

 

[Teamir]

Article in the Valley News, Friday, Oct. 27, 1978, pg. 6.

 

[Teamir]

Here’s the photos I can locate of her in case someone wants to compare to Alcala

 

[snooptroop88]

I don't know if she'd appear there, though. I know some of his victims don't. I think he'd be more likely at that stage to return in a rage just looking for literally anyone he could find for revenge. BUT yes, maybe someone from the camp specifically?? But I would think someone he thought might have turned him in, and I'd guess that wouldn't be someone in the images. Maybe so, though.

 

[Beekarina]

I'm local to the area, and the thing that has always struck me is how rural it is now. I can only imagine what it was like in the 1970s. I grew up in Vermont, not far from where the Moore victim lived, so those killings were always on our minds.

I also have always felt there was more than one person. It's not like it is an impossible territory, but it doesn't feel natural to me, really. Not the way the roads all connect, the way communities interact, etc. trying to get inside the mindset of someone going around where all of the proposed victims were.

Going back to Millican, I wonder where she was found, exactly? I';m very familiar with both Sunapee and New London, but have not been to the Chandler Brook Wetlands Preserve. The article above says she was found by bloodhounds close to were she last seen alive. If she was last seen alive at 5 pm in late October, seems like this was a walking trail, maybe? I wonder who last saw her?

I looked at timeanddate for October 24th this year, and sunset was around 5:50 pm for Sunapee. So seems pretty likely if she was murdered right there it must have happened shortly after she was last seen at 5pm? I would think she would have been planning to wrap things up with darkness approaching. It was also fairly chilly. I couldn't find exact temps for Sunapee or New London, but Lebanon, NH was around 40 F at 6 pm on October 24, 1978. Her hands would have been cold, so not a great night to stay out for twilight pics or anything like that.

 

[acutename]

I'm local to the area, and the thing that has always struck me is how rural it is now. I can only imagine what it was like in the 1970s. I grew up in Vermont, not far from where the Moore victim lived, so those killings were always on our minds.

I also have always felt there was more than one person. It's not like it is an impossible territory, but it doesn't feel natural to me, really. Not the way the roads all connect, the way communities interact, etc. trying to get inside the mindset of someone going around where all of the proposed victims were.

Going back to Millican, I wonder where she was found, exactly? I';m very familiar with both Sunapee and New London, but have not been to the Chandler Brook Wetlands Preserve. The article above says she was found by bloodhounds close to were she last seen alive. If she was last seen alive at 5 pm in late October, seems like this was a walking trail, maybe? I wonder who last saw her?

I looked at timeanddate for October 24th this year, and sunset was around 5:50 pm for Sunapee. So seems pretty likely if she was murdered right there it must have happened shortly after she was last seen at 5pm? I would think she would have been planning to wrap things up with darkness approaching. It was also fairly chilly. I couldn't find exact temps for Sunapee or New London, but Lebanon, NH was around 40 F at 6 pm on October 24, 1978. Her hands would have been cold, so not a great night to stay out for twilight pics or anything like that.

two trails on this map (not sure what was around in 1978)...also a few roads- have never been to this area- sometimes people photograph from a road. Did she drive there and park a car? There is a fish and game spot nearby and a golf course FWIW. Sometimes birds come in at sunset to land on water so she might have been there to catch the last light. Photographers do just accept that their hands will get cold if they are hoping for a great shot.