TX TX - Patricia Humphreys, 15, murdered, Houston, 26 Jun 1975

[Turtletxn]

This is a Cold Case with Houston Police Homicide. Patricia Kaye Humphreys was a 15-year-old Northbrook High School student when she was presumably abducted at or near a NW Houston drive-in theater. The drive-in was a popular hangout with the local kids and Patricia (15) along with her sister Debra (16), were out with friends to watch a double-feature. At some point in the evening, the 2 sisters became separated. When the cigarette machine at the Drive-In snack bar was not working or out of the cigarettes desired, Patricia stated she was walking to the local 7/11 convenience store. She was never seen alive again.

5' 5", Shoulder length Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, Glasses

6/25/75: Last Seen Alive: Thunderbird Twin Drive-In Theatre, 9510 Clay Road, Houston, TX 77041

11/30/75: Remains Found behind Church in the 5600 block of Hopper Rd., Houston, TX 77016 (roughly 18 miles away from Drive-In)

Cause of Death: Strangulation (presumed)

Houston Chronicle Article (2012)

Find-a-grave link

Podcast: Crime Behind the Pine Curtain Episode This is how the case came to my attention. Valerie Reddell is a local journalist. She has this podcast and did a special episode on this as she grew up in Houston in the area of this abduction, during the timeframe.

Anyone with information, in this case, is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS

 

[Turtletxn]

@othram Might be a case of interest.

 

[Turtletxn]

The Baytown Sun
Sunday, December 9th, 1975

 

[Turtletxn]

Bump for Patricia "Kaye."

 

[Turtletxn]

Bump for Patricia "Kaye"

 

[ChatteringBirds]

So she was identified. She just never received justice. How very sad.

 

[Turtletxn]

So she was identified. She just never received justice. How very sad.

Yes. Very sad.

 

[Fede]

The Houston Chronicle article says that no one so her in the 7-11. So she might have been kidnapped before arriving there.
How crowded was the way from the drive-in to the 7-11? And nobody saw a struggle or anything?

 

[Angelfrost99]

This is only speculation, but I wonder if Kaye encountered someone she knew, and left with that person or happened to meet the person outside of the theatre? Kids are so trusting and vulnerable when they are young. I know I was. So very tragic.

 

[Turtletxn]

Courtney Fischer with ABC 13 Houston, has been working with Houston Police for 10 months about this case. Here is her latest write up from Feb 5, 2021. 13 UNSOLVED: What happened to Houston teen who vanished from drive-in 45 years ago?

 

[Turtletxn]

Crimestoppers reward increased to $10,000
1037269-12 - Crime Stoppers of Houston

 

[Turtletxn]

Bump for Patricia "Kaye"

 

[dotr]

Is the brass ring believed to belong to the perp, if true, wondering how it came off and of course who it might suggest was the killer, imo, speculation.?
13 UNSOLVED: What happened to Houston teen who vanished from drive-in 45 years ago?
rbbm. Feb, 2021
''Six months later, Kaye's remains were found in the woods behind a church off Hopper Road, about 18 miles from the drive-in. Her clothing was scattered nearby, along with a brass ring with the initial "P."

''If you remember any details about this case, or, if you were at the Thunderbird drive-in on June 25, 1975, police want to talk with you.

Call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. As always, your tips are anonymous. If you have information that helps solve Kaye's case, you could see up to $10,000 of the reward.''

 

[Turtletxn]

That is an interesting idea. Since her first name was Patricia but she went by "Kaye" it could have been hers. Curious of the size of the ring.

 

[Turtletxn]

13 Unsolved: Patricia Kaye Humphreys - full article

Watch "13 Unsolved: Disappearance at the Drive-In in the link above.

13 Unsolved: Patricia Kaye Humphreys vanished from drive-in movie theater in SW Houston in 1975

By Courtney Fischer
Friday, October 1, 2021 6:52AM

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On June 25, 1975, Patricia Kaye Humphreys, 15, and her sister Debra, 16, went to the Thunderbird Drive-In located in southwest Harris County for a double feature. Two Dustin Hoffman movies were playing: "Lenny" followed by "Midnight Cowboy." It was the first time their mother let her girls take the family car out by themselves.

Mom, also named Patricia, gave her daughters a strict warning: go straight to the movies, don't pick up anyone else and come right home afterward.

But as teenagers are known to do, the sisters ignored their mother and picked up Deb's boyfriend, Eddie Garcia, followed by another classmate, Mike Hunter. Rhonda Pizzitola remembers it clearly because a few minutes later, the group showed up to her house in the Humphreys' white Mercury Montego, asking Rhonda if she'd like to come along.

"And my mom wouldn't let me go. She wasn't fond of Mike. She thought [the boys] were trouble," Rhonda said.

That would be the last time Rhonda saw Patricia -- who friends called Kaye -- alive.

Five months later, Kaye's body was found behind a Baptist church, 18 miles east of the Thunderbird. Police believe she had been strangled and possibly raped.

That night at the drive-in, Kaye had left the group during intermission to get a pack of cigarettes. That's what Debra later told police. The snack bar didn't have her brand, so Kaye allegedly told them she was going to walk to a convenience store to get the smokes she wanted. When she never returned to the theater, Deb drove home, hoping Kaye would be there. She wasn't.

It's been 46 years since Kaye was murdered.

In our latest "13 Unsolved" in-depth investigation, we're retracing Kaye's steps at the drive-in that night, tracking down who she saw, who she spoke with, what routes she may have taken. We've spent years talking to Kaye's father, Johnny Humphreys, who is Kaye's only immediate family member still alive -- still desperately searching for answers about what happened to his daughter.

"In her last hours, she must have wondered: where was somebody to protect her," Johnny said, as we revisited the place where his daughter disappeared nearly five decades ago. A place he hasn't been since then.

For the first time since Kaye was killed, Houston police are going on record to discuss the investigation, talking about what they're doing to reopen one of the oldest unsolved murders in Houston.

"This was a very, very innocent juvenile during an exciting time in the summer that literally -- in 1975 -- changed the whole course of Houston, Texas," said Detective Darcus Shorten, with the Houston Police Department.

Watch "13 Unsolved: Disappearance at the Drive-In." If you remember anything about Kaye's case, call cold case detectives at HPD or report an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers by calling 713-222-TIPS. If your tip leads to an arrest, you could get up to $10,000 in reward money.

13 Unsolved: Patricia Kaye Humphreys vanished from drive-in movie theater in SW Houston in 1975

 

[Turtletxn]

Bump for Patricia "Kaye"

 

[truseekks]

I just watched the episode of Unsolved on HULU about this. I was horrified her mother picked up and left so fast before she was even found just 5 months later. Who does that? I’m brain boggled by it.

 

[Turtletxn]

I just watched the episode of Unsolved on HULU about this. I was horrified her mother picked up and left so fast before she was even found just 5 months later. Who does that? I’m brain boggled by it.

Some people just cannot deal with the pain and run away from it. It's rare to see that in a Mother, but it does happen.

 

[#JUSTICE4WILDER]

Her mother passed away in 2020

Obituary for Patricia Scarber at Davis Funeral Home

 

[Sneaker33]

I just watched the episode of Unsolved on HULU about this. I was horrified her mother picked up and left so fast before she was even found just 5 months later. Who does that? I’m brain boggled by it.

I think this could be important because she was also marrying and changing her name.