Defrosting Cold Cases

Est. 2009

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The unknown 1972 Rome NY case

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Photography Simon Folkard Rose
Photography Simon Folkard

A reader emailed me about a 1972 Rome NY case. She cannot find anything about this New York case and neither can I. I did some digging but can use a hand here.

The case is mentioned in the Journal of Forensic Science, Apr. 1976, Vol. 21, No. 2, on the bottom of page 325. I quote:

“Another case was excavated with archaeological techniques by a National Park Service archaeologist, Dick Ping Hsu, at the request of the New York State Police in 1972.

A body of a young girl, wrapped in a raincoat, was found in a shallow grave ten miles northeast of Rome, New York. The findings of the archaeologist helped to bring about the arrest of a suspect in the spring of 1974.

The case is still in the courts.”

For a moment I thought this was the 1972 Utica case from Joanne Pecheone. John Hopkins was the suspect. He committed suicide in prison in 2000. He was serving time for the murder of two teen girls and the attempted murder in another case.

UPDATE: thanks to two readers, we have more information. The case mentioned is from Linda Cady and her daughter Lisa. Suspect in their murders was always Bernard Hatch. However, Hatch has not been officially charged in several cases. Hatch is serving life at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, Rome NY, for another murder.

Actions so far:
  1. I contacted the  Journal of Forensic Science so hopefully they will be able to help. Their article states that the paper was presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), Chicago,Illinois, 20 Feb. 1975. Does that mean that the case was still “in the courts” at the time of the AAFS meeting?
  2. I contacted the AAFS. Their website’s archives do not go back to 1975.
  3. I looked online for Dick Tsing-Ping Hsu’s contact information.
  4. I checked Dick Tsing-Ping Hsu’s books on Amazon and with other academic publishers but found no referrals to this case.
  5. Tried to find Oneida County cold cases from before 1972 for when the woman was most likely reported missing.
  6. Tried to find Jane Doe cases from Oneida County where the victim was found wrapped in a raincoat. No luck.
  7. Checked NamUs, no luck.

The woman may not have been reported missing and does not have to be local to Rome, NY.  So I turning to you, my readers. If you can solve this mystery for me and know which 1972 Rome NY case they were referring to, contact me.

Thank you!