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You are here: Home / Unsolved / Remembering Dana Bailey

Remembering Dana Bailey

November 13, 2010 By Alice

Dana Bailey - courtesy of her sister, Tracy Bailey
Dana Bailey – courtesy of her sister, Tracy Bailey

Update: Dana’s sister Tracy told me that the young woman who appears in many newspaper photographs is actually not Dana but Dana’s roommate. Tracy kindly gave me a photograph of her beautiful sister.

We hope that by publishing this photograph and this post the discussions in Dana’s case will pick up again.

On March 5, 1987, Dana Bailey was found murdered in her apartment. She had died of multiple stab wounds. Her mother discovered her daughter’s naked body. Dana was tied up and blindfolded.

Dana was stabbed multiple times in her left breast area. Police believes that she was stabbed in her bed and was then moved to the floor, placed in a posed position on top of bedding and sheets on the floor. She was visible from the bedroom window.

The murder weapon, a steak knife, was found in the bathroom.  It belonged in the apartment and was not brought to the scene.

Police believe that someone had watched Dana’s comings and goings from another apartment building where remodeling gave Dana’s killer coverage. Upon checking the area, police found shoe prints that matched those found in the apartment as well as those found at the point of surveillance.

The suspect most likely used a five gallon bucket as a step stool to climb up and enter the kitchen window of Dana’s apartment after cutting the screen with a sharp object.

In December of 2003, the police received an anonymous letter with two names. How these two people are connected to either the crime scene or Dana is a mystery. These two people were investigated, found, questioned but no connection was found. There is a $30,000.00 reward for the arrest and conviction of Dana’s killer.

Ray Gricar

As mysterious and tragic as Dana’s murder is, it wasn’t the end of trouble. On April 15, 2005, the DA in her case, Mr. Ray Gricar vanished. Authorities broadcasted a description of the district attorney and his car. They even used search planes. Bellafonte police officer Darrel Zaccagni said that in the first hours, he wasn’t worried. But the next day, Gricar’s Mini Cooper was discovered in Lewisburg, across from an antiques mall called the Street of Shops, about a hundred yards from the Susquehanna River but no trace of Gricar.

Medical records showed nothing unusual. If he disappeared out of his own free will, he did so without touching his bank account or waiting a few months to collect his retirement pension, said Centre County district attorney Mike Madeira.

When police opened his car, they caught a strong whiff of smoke. However, Ray did not smoke AND didn’t allow smoking in his beloved car. Police found two cigarette butts and recovered DNA from them, but it matched nobody they had on file. They also used a bloodhound but the dog lost Gricar’s scent 20 yards from the car. The tracker suggested that Gricar got into another vehicle perhaps with his killer.

And then a miracle happens! Gricar’s laptop was discovered in the Susquehanna River on September 30, 2005, but without the hard drive. The hard drive was found a few months later but was so physically damaged that the FBI could not retrieve any information. Did Gricar walk away from his life? Did he commit suicide? Was he murdered? Is there any connection between his disappearance and one of the cases he handled?

If you have any information about Dana Bailey or the anonymous note the police received, contact PennState College Police at 814-234-7150. You can leave an anonymous tip at CrimeStoppers at 877-99-CRIME. If you have any information about the disappearance of Ray Gricar contact the Bellafonte Police at 814-353-2320.

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: Dana Bailey, DNA, Forensics, PennState University, Pennsylvania

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Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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