TN TN - Wendy Welborn, 18, Memphis, 5 Jun 1980

[waunakeegan]

Wendy Welborn’s body was found at a field in Frayser, Tennessee (which is located in North Memphis) on Thursday June 5, 1980. From the details I could find it sounds like her body was found in a subdivision called Harvester Hills in a field nearby a street called Mario. Apparently the subdivision was/is located by a building called the International Harvester Plant.
Wendy was only 18 years old and she was about to graduate high school when she was tragically murdered. She had been living with her mother and her brothers.

I did a quick google and a newspaper archive search and couldn't find much of anything more about her case. Anyone else have any luck?

Wendy Welborn – Chatham Cold Case Club

 

[RookieInvestigator]

It looks like some students were looking into this case a few years ago...

More than 30 years later, her case remains unsolved. However, neighbors are hoping word of her story will finally bring her killer to justice.

Now, a team of college students from Chatham University of Pennsylvania is bringing light back to the case after 35 years.

The student chapter of American Investigative Society of Cold Cases has posted pictures of the woman and other cold case victims of Facebook.

MEMPHIS ARTICLE
FACEBOOK

 

[selinasway]

I grew up with Wendy in the 70's until her death. She lived with her mother but came to see her father every weekend and that is where I knew her from. I knew her brothers and half sister. Wendy was so funny, she made me laugh all the time. She was truly loved and her death was such a shock to me. Her family had moved to New Mexico, so I did not find out about her death right away, I was still young and her brother came back to Memphis and told me about her demise. It was awful. She lived with her mom who stayed in Memphis, I believe she is still there. I was wondering about DNA in this case? The way they can go through match companies and find the murderer? He's probably dead and gone but there has to be an answer in this case. Her family needs answers, I'm still in touch with them and I know they just want answers.

 

[waunakeegan]

Here's a case summary I wrote for Wendy's case a while ago:

"18-year-old Wendy Welborn's future looked bright in the late spring of 1980. Wendy had been living with her mother and her brothers during this time and she had just graduated high school. However, tragedy, or rather a killer, would strike on June 5, 1980 shattering her dreams of any kind of future. This was the day that the young blonde was tragically murdered.
Wendy Welborn’s body was found in a field in Frayser, Tennessee, located north of Memphis. From the details I could find it sounds like her body was found in a subdivision called Harvester Hills in a field nearby a place called the International Harvester plant (picture of this plant in the 1965 is attached). Frankly, there's not many publicly available details to find, though.
There is talk that Wendy was beaten, raped, mutilated and then murdered, but I was not able to officially verify these details or Wendy's cause of death.
There has been very little movement or publicity in this case. Back in 2015 The student chapter of American Investigative Society of Cold Cases from Chatham University of PA made an effort to bring Wendy's case back to light and give it some publicity. Although this helped spread awareness for the case, it is sadly still ice cold.
New life breathed into unsolved teen's murder