PA PA - Rebecca Triska, 15, Ambridge, 19 Sept 1958

[Orange_O]

Bumping with a link to this article Rebecca Triska

Not sure there is any new information in it, but always good to have a refresh. Interesting a classmate of hers was murdered (seems it's just a sad, unrelated fact). I can't seem to find any info on if the hairs were actually tested in the end.

 

[Betty P]

Bumping with a link to this article Rebecca Triska

Not sure there is any new information in it, but always good to have a refresh. Interesting a classmate of hers was murdered (seems it's just a sad, unrelated fact). I can't seem to find any info on if the hairs were actually tested in the end.

Interesting that there was another suspect, or did this one slip my memory?

Although Frank Senk was always the prime suspect in Rebecca’s disappearance, it’s worth noting that another man by the name of Edward Seager was also considered a suspect. He reportedly told authorities that he had killed a girl in the area and buried her in a local mine. He later recanted, changing his story to say that IF they found a girl buried in a mine, that he had killed her, but he was not sure if he’d killed a girl or not. Authorities initially believed this statement was false, and a result of Seager’s mental illness, but they discovered that he had been released from custody the very day that Rebecca went missing. I am not sure if he was ever cleared.

Like the author, I also wondered if Senk was the killer, did he use the same location to hide Rebecca's body as he did Jane Benfield's? Possible, but there might not be much evidence remaining now if he did leave her nearby.

 

[Pennysmom1]

Rebecca Triska reported missing

Clipping found in The Pittsburgh Press published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 9/22/1958. Rebecca Triska reported missing

www.newspapers.com

Rebecca Triska

Clipping found in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 9/23/1958. Rebecca Triska

www.newspapers.com

Frank Senk Rebecca Ann Triska NamUs MP #4608

Clipping found in The Evening Review published in East Liverpool, Ohio on 4/19/1967. Frank Senk Rebecca Ann Triska NamUs MP #4608

www.newspapers.com

 

[Richard]

Bumping this thread up.

 

[cenazoic]

Article from 2023:

11 Investigates: Pennsylvania’s 1st serial killer?

He was convicted of one murder, the prime suspect in two others and police believe there could be more.

www.wpxi.com

 

[alb1on]

So... Did they eventually lost these samples or just waited 60 years to check and realize that he didn't have one niece, not to mention three?

He did have at least 2 nieces by his sister Betty Ann. He may have had more but I have not checked his other siblings and I have no idea whether the nieces were red haired. It does not prove anything either way but it is important to establish facts when they are a feature of the case. This information comes from Ancestry which includes a clipping of Betty Ann's obituary citing her daughters.