In the summer of 2000, in Cartersville, Georgia, an employee of Lacey Mills, Inc., a rug manufacturer, became concerned when her friend and coworker, fifty-three-year-old Patricia Hanlon, failed to show up for her shift on the morning of Thursday, July 27th. This coworker, in fact, was worried enough to go to Patricia’s apartment on North Erwin Street to check on her. After repeated knocks on the door went unanswered, the coworker phoned police.
Upon entering the home, officers discovered the back door of the apartment ajar. Patricia Hanlon was lying dead in the hallway; it would later be determined that she had been strangled to death, though authorities did not divulge whether the victim had been sexually assaulted. The state of decomposition of the body suggested that Patricia could have been dead for as long as three days.
Notably, there was no sign of forced entry into the residence, though it looked to have been rifled through, and a television and VCR were missing. As the investigation progressed, it became clear that Patricia was likely acquainted with her killer, though she lived alone and had not been dating anyone at the time of her death. Forensic evidence recovered from the apartment eventually led to a dead end.
The case remains open, but investigators admit that they have no compelling suspects in the crime.
Crime Immemorial 