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

[Talisman]

littlehorn,

Did the FBI happen to list the names of the two suspects? I was wondering about the one that "had no real evidence linking him". There have been many crimes with just circumstantial evidence linking the true murderer. But then the FBI cleared him and they can be very thorough.

Just thinking about Betsy, yet again.

 

[kline]

The more I look at how little the original investigators came up with and how quickly they ran into dead ends it makes me think the answer must lie outside any of the obvious areas of investigation.
Im sure they looked at most of the scenarios ive been able to come up with and had them lead nowhere just as fast.
It kind of reminds me of the Manson investigation which Ive thought of many times in context of people trying to solve the Zodiac case.
If Susan Atkins had kept her mouth shut and Manson never been apprehended people could have puzzled over the minutia of The victims lives until judgement day and never came close to the truth because the answer was so outside the realm of what anyone could concieve given the known facts.
I mean how many weirdos and suspicous people do you think Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski knew between Europe and L.A. in 1969?
You could probably concoct plausible scenarios until your head imploded and still never come close to what happened having nothing to work with but 'the known facts'.
I can just see someone on some alternate universe board bringing up some scroungy hippy guy that Terry Melcher reportedly knew as a possible POI and getting flamed by people who had big convoluted conspiracy theories involving celebrities the CIA and the Polish secret police.
But nonetheless thats why I think keeping discusion about this case going is so important because one of us or somebody else may be inspired to look at it at just the right new angle that could be the key to unraveling it.
Which also is why I applaud Littlehorn for trying.
Whether we ever find the answer the fact that somebody cares enough to try is a fitting tribute to Betsy and other victims on this board whose unsolved cases lie yellowing in some file cabinet somewhere.

 

[littlehorn]

Did the FBI happen to list the names of the two suspects? I was wondering about the one that "had no real evidence linking him". There have been many crimes with just circumstantial evidence linking the true murderer. But then the FBI cleared him and they can be very thorough.

Just thinking about Betsy, yet again.

Talisman,

The names of both suspects were redacted from the FBI paperwork. The first suspect, the Arabian national, was cleared when someone else was caught for the crime, and it was determined that the criminal was also employed by the State of Texas and working on the day of Betsy's murder.

The second suspect was a classmate of Betsy's whose name we tracked down based on talking to other classmates. His sole link to the case was that he was busted for a drug charge while in the military, and because he was in her class, the Bellefonte police felt that he should be further examined. His military records were pulled and apparently no link was found. He later moved to Oregon.

Derek

 

[littlehorn]

The more I look at how little the original investigators came up with and how quickly they ran into dead ends it makes me think the answer must lie outside any of the obvious areas of investigation.
Im sure they looked at most of the scenarios ive been able to come up with and had them lead nowhere just as fast.
It kind of reminds me of the Manson investigation which Ive thought of many times in context of people trying to solve the Zodiac case.
If Susan Atkins had kept her mouth shut and Manson never been apprehended people could have puzzled over the minutia of The victims lives until judgement day and never came close to the truth because the answer was so outside the realm of what anyone could concieve given the known facts.
I mean how many weirdos and suspicous people do you think Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski knew between Europe and L.A. in 1969?
You could probably concoct plausible scenarios until your head imploded and still never come close to what happened having nothing to work with but 'the known facts'.
I can just see someone on some alternate universe board bringing up some scroungy hippy guy that Terry Melcher reportedly knew as a possible POI and getting flamed by people who had big convoluted conspiracy theories involving celebrities the CIA and the Polish secret police.
But nonetheless thats why I think keeping discusion about this case going is so important because one of us or somebody else may be inspired to look at it at just the right new angle that could be the key to unraveling it.
Which also is why I applaud Littlehorn for trying.
Whether we ever find the answer the fact that somebody cares enough to try is a fitting tribute to Betsy and other victims on this board whose unsolved cases lie yellowing in some file cabinet somewhere.

You make an interesting point about how, given similar circumstances to the Zodiac case, the Manson case would have been equally inscrutable. I mean, from what I recall, Manson decided that Tate would be a good victim based on showing up at the house not realizing that the person he was trying to find had moved out. Totally random. Same with their other victims.
I spent about an hour with another gentleman who I'm working with and the State Police investigator on the case on Friday. I had submitted Betsy's case to the Vidocq Society and the PSP Trooper in charge is considering presenting it to them as I mentioned on the website. That alone might be a great way to get some new information on the case for the PSP.

One impression I get is that the numerous investigators initially on the case were so focused on the possibility of a drug or homosexual-related crime, that they may have excluded other, more basic possibilities. Drugs were prevalent at PSU in 1969 but mostly marijuana. No other violence had occurred prior to that which would indicate a violent heavy-drug ring operation taking place. Same with the homosexuality. I have been told that, while the library was a popular meeting place for illicit - and auto-erotic (flashers, etc.) encounters, it was probably an overstated concern which may have led investigators down the wrong path initially. By 1973 or 1974, when the FBI produced their last paper to the PSP, it was quite probably already too late to ever solve the case based on traditional thought.

Derek

 

[kline]

You make an interesting point about how, given similar circumstances to the Zodiac case, the Manson case would have been equally inscrutable. I mean, from what I recall, Manson decided that Tate would be a good victim based on showing up at the house not realizing that the person he was trying to find had moved out. Totally random. Same with their other victims.
I spent about an hour with another gentleman who I'm working with and the State Police investigator on the case on Friday. I had submitted Betsy's case to the Vidocq Society and the PSP Trooper in charge is considering presenting it to them as I mentioned on the website. That alone might be a great way to get some new information on the case for the PSP.

One impression I get is that the numerous investigators initially on the case were so focused on the possibility of a drug or homosexual-related crime, that they may have excluded other, more basic possibilities. Drugs were prevalent at PSU in 1969 but mostly marijuana. No other violence had occurred prior to that which would indicate a violent heavy-drug ring operation taking place. Same with the homosexuality. I have been told that, while the library was a popular meeting place for illicit - and auto-erotic (flashers, etc.) encounters, it was probably an overstated concern which may have led investigators down the wrong path initially. By 1973 or 1974, when the FBI produced their last paper to the PSP, it was quite probably already too late to ever solve the case based on traditional thought.

Derek

Unfortunately that kind of investigative tunnel vision can set in early.
At risk of overusing the Tate analogy but early on that investigation detectives pretty well made up thier minds since the victims were counter culture entertainment types and small quatities of recreational drugs were found at the crime scene it must have been a 'Drug Burn'.
They spent countless man hours on that premise(to the exclusion of any other) tracking down friend and enemies in the L.A. party circuit and and of course at that place in that time ecountered a thousand hollywood weirdos and never came within a mile of the killers.
Fortunately the LaBianca detectives and the officers investigating Gary Hinmans murders were more open minded.

 

[littlehorn]

I think that's a similar case here. The incidence of drug arrests on campus at that time period and the relative anonymity of the stacks would be a good indicator that drugs would be involved on first blush.

But then you see that the girl is found down a dead-end aisle, and you have to think: Why would she, if she truly interrupted a drug deal, etc., calmly continue searching for books, rather than getting the heck out of there?

There's no evidence to indicate that she struggled or was coerced so it's not likely she would have been dragged there.

 

[kline]

For me personally,I completely discount the drug angle.
I still feel were on the right track.
Someone who wanted to Kill.
Someone who wanted to kill Betsy specifically.
For intensely personal reasons.
Regardless of the holes in the scenarios weve come up with I still think thats the answer.

 

[littlehorn]

For me personally,I completely discount the drug angle.
I still feel were on the right track.
Someone who wanted to Kill.
Someone who wanted to kill Betsy specifically.
For intensely personal reasons.
Regardless of the holes in the scenarios weve come up with I still think thats the answer.

I agree. The drug angle is not compelling, and it reeks of 1960's police conventional wisdom -- "hippies! drug burns!"

I tend to believe there may have been someone who unilaterally admired Betsy, likely without her knowing.

I've purchased a mannequin torso and am going to do a 3D mock-up of the coroner's report, in hopes of finally establishing whether she was stabbed from the front or from behind, as well as establishing the possible origin of certain bruises and abrasions listed on the autopsy report that the coroner could not explain.

I think the whole thing happened VERY quickly and without much fanfare; I doubt she had time to react or know what was happening to her.

Derek

 

[MaryLiz]

I wonder if whoever did this was someone Betsy went to school with at U of M? Not necessarily connected with the other coed murders in Ann Arbor at that time, but someone she had gone to school with who might have been obsessed with her. Perhaps someone from MI who had been pursuing her while she was in Ann Arbor and she kept putting them off. Or maybe someone she dated while she was in Ann Arbor and broke up with before she got together with her fiance, who was in med school. I didn't have time to go through the articles to see if it mentioned how long she had been dating her fiance before they actually got engaged. Just a thought that this could have been someone from Michigan maybe...

 

[littlehorn]

I wonder if whoever did this was someone Betsy went to school with at U of M? Not necessarily connected with the other coed murders in Ann Arbor at that time, but someone she had gone to school with who might have been obsessed with her. Perhaps someone from MI who had been pursuing her while she was in Ann Arbor and she kept putting them off. Or maybe someone she dated while she was in Ann Arbor and broke up with before she got together with her fiance, who was in med school. I didn't have time to go through the articles to see if it mentioned how long she had been dating her fiance before they actually got engaged. Just a thought that this could have been someone from Michigan maybe...

I know she had been dating David for several years. She had followed him to PSU to pursue a graduate degree while being closer to him while he got his medical degree.

I have not heard of anyone she dated before she met David; they may have been together since high school.

Good thought though. I suspect this case was more random than that, however -- again coming back to the fact that no one would have known she would have 1. stayed at school over Thanksgiving, 2. gone to the library.

 

[Rhett]

Wouldn't she more than likely have been stabbed several times if this was a crime of passion or obsession?

 

[MaryLiz]

I know she had been dating David for several years. She had followed him to PSU to pursue a graduate degree while being closer to him while he got his medical degree.

I have not heard of anyone she dated before she met David; they may have been together since high school.

Good thought though. I suspect this case was more random than that, however -- again coming back to the fact that no one would have known she would have 1. stayed at school over Thanksgiving, 2. gone to the library.

Just grabbing at straws. This case is just so baffling. And I'm pretty much obsessed with it. I think the drug angle is interesting but I don't really think it had anything to do with Betsy's murder. The big 3 back then were pot, acid and speed. This was pretty much before the cocaine rage.

I'm glad you made the Vidocq Society aware of this case. They are top-notch. I hope the PA law enforcement in charge of Betsy's case will submit it to them because I would love it if they got involved in this case. It seems tailor-made for them!

 

[littlehorn]

Wouldn't she more than likely have been stabbed several times if this was a crime of passion or obsession?

I tend to agree with you on this. I think it was a crime of opportunity. It may have been something that was brewing in this guy about women in general, or maybe Betsy sparked something in him when the time was right.

 

[littlehorn]

Just grabbing at straws. This case is just so baffling. And I'm pretty much obsessed with it. I think the drug angle is interesting but I don't really think it had anything to do with Betsy's murder. The big 3 back then were pot, acid and speed. This was pretty much before the cocaine rage.

I'm glad you made the Vidocq Society aware of this case. They are top-notch. I hope the PA law enforcement in charge of Betsy's case will submit it to them because I would love it if they got involved in this case. It seems tailor-made for them!

The best part was, the Vidocq Society had never heard of it! So I prepared a packet, made them aware of my website, and put them in touch with the investigator. It was a great connection to make and I was really surprised that they were unfamiliar with her story. It's legend in the central PA area.

I also agree with you that the drug angle doesn't seem compelling, for a lot of reasons, including that, I think, if she had stumbled on something and known what it was, she would have high-tailed out of there. There's not enough physical evidence from the coroner's report to indicate a struggle, so I don't believe she was dragged "kicking and screaming."

I have a copy of the coroner's report and if I can scan it into a PDF, I will put it up on the website. It's available publicly in the prothonotary's office in Centre County, but it's all a paper search, which makes it tough. I have some theories I'm working on trying to explain the nature and location of some of the bruises, and when I do that, I will give that to the PSP as well.

Too bad my hereditary bad eyesight prevents me from passing the PA-required physical for police officers. I'd have liked to have been one.

Derek

 

[littlehorn]

I did some updates today to www.whokilledbetsy.com, including a new article link from the Articles page, and a new page called Theories and Rumors FAQ. I compiled a lot of questions I get all the time, and I answered them based on what knowledge exists.

You guys have been super-helpful in helping me establish some of those questions by your insightful inquiry into the case.

Regards,

Derek

 

[rjackson]

I was at Penn State at that time. And I never wore dresses--bell bottoms and workshirts were the norm.
rjackson

 

[rjackson]

I'm new here, but I came across this forum just searching around for whatever internet info might be available on this murder. I was an undergraduate at Penn State when this murder occurred; in fact, I was working as a student assistant in the library when the murder occurred--my parents lived in State College so I didn't have to go anywhere for Thanksgiving.

This incident scared everyone on campus. And it especially scared students who were working in the library. As someone mentioned, the stacks areas are very deserted and on a holiday weekend even more so. I was questioned by the police because I was in the library at the time. They asked me if I saw anyone unusual in the library and my first reaction was: "Everyone in the library on a Thanksgiving weekend is pretty weird." But there certainly were some regular weirdos who frequented the library.

I returned again to Penn State in 1979 to do a graduate degree in English--just like Betsy Aardsma. That section of the library was where the English literature materials were shelved, so that's why she was in that particular spot. And I took the same course with Meserole--his office was in the basement of the main part of the building, so it would not have been unusual for either him or his office mate to be in the building.

Anyway, I'm here to help with any questions you might have about the campus and the library at the time--if I can.

 

[rjackson]

The stacks are fairly abandoned, but every time I have been there, there have at least been people around. Not necessarily within eyesight, but close enough that I would have felt weird, say, vandalizing an aisle.

Derek

But think--this was Thanksgiving. Students were gone. It was very deserted in the library.
rj

 

[littlehorn]

I'm new here, but I came across this forum just searching around for whatever internet info might be available on this murder. I was an undergraduate at Penn State when this murder occurred; in fact, I was working as a student assistant in the library when the murder occurred--my parents lived in State College so I didn't have to go anywhere for Thanksgiving.

This incident scared everyone on campus. And it especially scared students who were working in the library. As someone mentioned, the stacks areas are very deserted and on a holiday weekend even more so. I was questioned by the police because I was in the library at the time. They asked me if I saw anyone unusual in the library and my first reaction was: "Everyone in the library on a Thanksgiving weekend is pretty weird." But there certainly were some regular weirdos who frequented the library.

I returned again to Penn State in 1979 to do a graduate degree in English--just like Betsy Aardsma. That section of the library was where the English literature materials were shelved, so that's why she was in that particular spot. And I took the same course with Meserole--his office was in the basement of the main part of the building, so it would not have been unusual for either him or his office mate to be in the building.

Anyway, I'm here to help with any questions you might have about the campus and the library at the time--if I can.

Thank you for the replies! If you would do me a favor and email me: [email protected], I would love to talk with you via email and get some more information.

Anything you can provide would be greatly helpful.

There has been some confusion on the matter of exactly what Betsy was wearing. According to the coroner's report, it was a cranberry sleeveless blouse with a white long-sleeved cotton turtleneck underneath it.

Fairly conservative, it reminds me of something my mother would wear, and she's of that era.

Derek

 

[kline]

I agree. The drug angle is not compelling, and it reeks of 1960's police conventional wisdom -- "hippies! drug burns!"

I tend to believe there may have been someone who unilaterally admired Betsy, likely without her knowing.

I've purchased a mannequin torso and am going to do a 3D mock-up of the coroner's report, in hopes of finally establishing whether she was stabbed from the front or from behind, as well as establishing the possible origin of certain bruises and abrasions listed on the autopsy report that the coroner could not explain.

I think the whole thing happened VERY quickly and without much fanfare; I doubt she had time to react or know what was happening to her.

Thats exactly how I visualize it too.
Its so cool your making these connections,now someone here on the board who was there!
You never know what will turn up and what could be the missing piece!
Ill be interested to see the results of your tests.
Hang in there.