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

[littlehorn]

Well now I am fascilating back to it being an unexpected attack by one lucky killer after reading what you LH. It makes a lot of sense. I didn't remember the half can of soda left behind and i guess I didn't realize the left behind was a current magazine either.

In your opinion, LH do you think it was the killer who left the memorial(s). I know there were two but wasn't one of them in the wrong spot?

I don't think the killer left the memorial. It's hard to say, but there was nothing there that would have been unknown to a prankster. The old newspaper clippings could easily have been stolen from the Aardsma file in the Pattee special collections room -- if you go there today and check out the file, most are photocopies, as the original clippings have mostly gone missing at some point years ago.

The was all October/November 1969 vintage, and the half-empty soda can found with the TO ME indicates someone was enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the library when they were interrupted...

Remember, no one thought anything had really happened except that a girl had fainted -- so even if you were there, alone, masturbating, when someone rushed by to help her or whatever, you would easily have had time to pack up your stuff and leave if you thought you were going to be discovered by people coming to assist. It was 20 mins til they got her to the Health Center and pronounced her, more than enough time for an "innocent" pervert to quietly leave with collection and dignity intact.

They even caught a couple trysting in the Level 1 core around 7-8pm that evening, so the area wasn't exactly "sealed off" and a lot of people on other floors didn't realize anything was happening.

In my mind kind of begs the question, if you weren't directly involved in the killing and having to split in a hurry, why not take your and soda can? The soda can would have also been inconvenient to grab after killing her since it was on the opposite end of the core from the blood spot at the stairway -- indicating he would have had to double back to grab the can and before heading back to the stairway which was not occupied at the time. The other area where the man said "somebody better help..." had several witnesses so only one unprotected exit from the core was available, and that's where the blood spot was found.

 

[morf13]

Forgive me if this possibility was discussed,but is there anyway that she could be the victim of the same murderer who killed Lindy Biechler? One of the men in the Aradsma suspect sketch appears to be on the heavy side. The writer of the letter to police regarding Lindy,called himself "fat and beautiful". Then factor in the fact that police got anonymous letters regarding both victims.And afterall, they were both killed in the same town.

 

[littlehorn]

Forgive me if this possibility was discussed,but is there anyway that she could be the victim of the same murderer who killed Lindy Biechler? One of the men in the Aradsma suspect sketch appears to be on the heavy side. The writer of the letter to police regarding Lindy,called himself "fat and beautiful". Then factor in the fact that police got anonymous letters regarding both victims.And afterall, they were both killed in the same town.

Well, they weren't killed in the same town -- but in an earlier post I mentioned that one of the suspects we identified in the Aardsma killing was from Lancaster (where Lindy was murdered) and was in the area in 1975 (when Lindy was murdered). Never met or saw a picture of the guy so I don't know if he was overweight, but he was a closeted homosexual and had numerous legal probs in the years after the Aardsma murder.

Unfortunately he died in 2002 so there's no way to be sure...

 

[morf13]

Well, they weren't killed in the same town -- but in an earlier post I mentioned that one of the suspects we identified in the Aardsma killing was from Lancaster (where Lindy was murdered) and was in the area in 1975 (when Lindy was murdered). Never met or saw a picture of the guy so I don't know if he was overweight, but he was a closeted homosexual and had numerous legal probs in the years after the Aardsma murder.

Unfortunately he died in 2002 so there's no way to be sure...

What was his name? I could try to do some digging

 

[morf13]

I have read that some people think Betsy's murder could be related to Lncaster PA murder victim, Lindy Biechler.
Regarding Biechler,i posted that her case,and the anonymous letters received,closely mirror the Zodiac killer MO from Calif. Heres a link to what i posted:
Lindy Biechler(19) Murdered in her home, 1975, Still Unsolved - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

If these two murders are connected,then there is Cheri Jo Bates who is thought by many to be a Zodiac victim. She was killed after leaving a college library. Heres her story:
http://www.zodiackiller.com/Bates.html

Would love to see whether Betsy and Lindy's murders can be linked together.

 

[littlehorn]

Richard Haefner is the guy, he is listed in the SCM article posted a few messages back.

 

[morf13]

I have read that some people think Betsy's murder could be related to Lancaster PA murder victim, Lindy Biechler.
Regarding Biechler,i posted that her case,and the anonymous letters received,closely mirror the Zodiac killer MO from Calif. Heres a link to what i posted:
Lindy Biechler(19) Murdered in her home, 1975, Still Unsolved - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

If these two murders are connected,then there is Cheri Jo Bates who is thought by many to be a Zodiac victim. She was killed after leaving a college library. Heres her story:
http://www.zodiackiller.com/Bates.html

Would love to see whether Betsy and Lindy's murders can be linked together.

Regarding Richard Haefner,I have dug up some possible ties of him,to California. Unfortunately,i have NOT been able to find a photo,but i DID find a description of him calling him "lanky and bespectacled"(wearing glasses) so he doesnt sound like the "fat and beautful" type from the Lindy Biechler letter. However, i have found SEVERAL articles written by him regarding his work as a geologist,and studies he did in California. Perhaps this is what makes him familiar with Zodiac,was being in Calif.

 

[littlehorn]

Interesting. I wonder if he was around there back when Cheri Jo Bates got murdered? He seems to be a real oddball. Don't know if he knew of or was interested in the Zodiac at the time...But who carries a "sharpened screwdriver" for self-defense in grad school?

I always either packed a butterfly knife or a Sig P230, myself. LOL.

 

[littlehorn]

Haefner in some "doggy drama" --

http://www.ded.uscourts.gov/RRM/Opinions/Oct2001/00-393.pdf

Anyone have a Vlex subscription?

http://vlex.com/vid/haefner-v-county-of-lancaster-18189388

 

[morf13]

Interesting. I wonder if he was around there back when Cheri Jo Bates got murdered? He seems to be a real oddball. Don't know if he knew of or was interested in the Zodiac at the time...But who carries a "sharpened screwdriver" for self-defense in grad school?

I always either packed a butterfly knife or a Sig P230, myself. LOL.

I dont know if he was,but i will share this photo with you. It was found in Riverside Comm College where she was killed at. Its the infamous "desktop poem" for those of you that are not aware of it,following the murder of Cheri Jo Bates,anonymous letters were mailed to the press and to her family,presumably from the killer.(just like in the Lindy Biechler case,accept the letters went right to the cops) Anyhow they also found this Desktop with a morbid poem on it,and after considering it as evidence, handwriting experts said it was from Zodiac. It mentions a RED DRESS. I wonder if he saw Betsy in her red dress,and it set him off?When the writer signs his initials at the end of the poem,GUESS WHAT THE WRITER'S INITIALS ARE?

 

[morf13]

I would like to share another couple photos with you. One is a photo of a halloween card mailed to reporter Paul Avery in OCT. 1970 FROM the Zodiac. Look at the symbol under the word Halloween,at the bottom of the card. Nobody knows what it is,some said it was a mountain. It looks like a birds wings. The second photo is the symbol for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEOSCIENCE TEACHERS,or to make it simple,geologists.What was the occupation of Richard Haefner? He was a geologist! In one letter ,Zodiac wrote about "RADIANS AND INCHES ON THE RADIANS" Radians are used in Geology!

 

[littlehorn]

I always wondered about the R.H. initials, too. I don't know where Haefner did his undergrad work or if he was in CA back when Cheri Jo Bates was killed...But the connections always kind of made me wonder.

 

[morf13]

I always wondered about the R.H. initials, too. I don't know where Haefner did his undergrad work or if he was in CA back when Cheri Jo Bates was killed...But the connections always kind of made me wonder.

He wrote a paper on Lave flow in the Death Valley area of Calif. in 1969. Was he there doing research at the time? In researching,i found that Mt. Diablo,(as mentioned in the Zodiac letter) wasnt a volcano,but had molten or lava rock or something like that. Maybe he hopped over in that area to do some research

 

[morf13]

Re: possible Zodiac victim in Pennsylvania

by Theforeigner » Sat Jul 25, 2009 8:30 am
http://nj.findacase.com/research/wfrmDo ... C03.htm/qx

In this link, an appeal case for Richard Charles Haefner, one of the people involved is a police officer named JERRY P. CRUMP.
CRUMP was the police officer who accused Haefner of molesting a 12 year old boy in 1975, Haefner was arrested
July 3rd 1975

Lindy Biechler, 19 years old, was Murdered in her home Dec 5th, 1975 (6 months after Haefner was arrested by Crump)

The Lindy Biechler killer signed his letter "Janice Crum", kind of a close match to Jerry P Crump IMO

So could the "janice Crumb" have been som kind of revenge clue?


The question is was Richard Charles Haefner locked up for the alledged malestation of the 12 year old boy, the day Lindy Biechler was killed? Or had he ben bailed out?


Link to newsreprot on the HAEFNER /CRUMP case:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 39,3418375
This is a newsreport on the origanial case Boca Raton News - May 26, 1976

Posted over at the ZodiacZee forum,by my pal THEForeigner

 

[morf13]

Quoting my last post "The question is was Richard Charles Haefner locked up for the alledged malestation of the 12 year old boy, the day Lindy Biechler was killed? Or had he ben bailed out?"

I believe he got off after multiple mistrials. Can anyone here confirm that?

 

[morf13]

I found this:
"For his part, Dr. Richard Haefner graduated from Penn State to pursue a career in geology"

However,i cant find any info on him. I cant find him in any yearbooks,or listed as a Penn state student. Anyone have any ideas on how i can gather anymore info on him? Any suggestions would be helpful

UPDTE: 7/30/09 verified with somebody that Haefner, attended Franklin & Marshall and left Penn State in
1970

 

[MaryLiz]

I got a Google News alert for Betsy. It was this article written last December. The links for it were posted by littlehorn several pages back in this thread. I don't know what is new about it or why it popped up on my news alert just today, but I'm re-posting the link just the same. It's interesting to re-read it again and watch the video.

http://www.pennlive.com/specialprojects/index.ssf/betsy_aardsma/

 

[morf13]

Weird!

 

[morf13]

Well,after alot of digging,i found a photo of Haefner,who was a possible suspect in Betsy's muder. I think his photo,which i have included here,looks like sketch# 1 found here:
http://labyrinth13.com/OtherWorks_BetsyAardsma.htm



For those of you that know i am trying to see if there is a link between Betsy's murder,along with Lindy Biechlers,to the Zodiac killer of Calif,here is a sketch of the Zodiac from eyewitnesses at night after the murder of cabbie,Paul Stine. Notice the Haefner photo doesnt have glasses like the Z sketch,but he was known to wear them. I think that there is similarities in the facial structure,lips and jawline

Opinions please!

 

[morf13]

Heres a story similar to Betsys. The victim was stabbed in the heart in a supermarket in Calif,during bus hours,and there were no witnesses! The victim was also a college student