If you’ve caught the evening news this week, you already know that a killer is on the loose.
A 61-year-old woman was found dead in her Ferguson Township home last week, and the death was ruled a homicide during the autopsy due to trauma to the body.
Police are investigating the case, but as of Wednesday, no suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of Jean Tuggy in her Pine Grove Mills residence.
It’s been less than a week since the murder was discovered and the investigation began, but State College homicides typically result in immediate arrests. Just this past year, a pair of domestic disputes were followed by suspects turning themselves in and confessing to the crimes, both of which have yet to go to trial.
With that in mind, the Tuggy investigation — even in its early stages — logically draws comparisons to some of State College’s most notorious unsolved crimes.
Murder in the Stacks.
If you’ve gone to Penn State or lived in State College for any amount of time, you’ve likely heard about the death of Betsy Aardsma in November of 1969. Aardsma was 22 at the time of her death in the ‘Stacks’ section of the Pattee Library on campus.
It was just before 5 p.m. when Aardsma was stabbed in the chest on Nov. 28 while doing research in the library for a paper. It’s been over 46 years since she was murdered, and state police are still seeking information on the case.
Aardsma’s death has been the subject of multiple books and a documentary true crime film titled ‘Betsy’ is in production.
The Missing DA.
Ray Gricar, an attorney from Cleveland, first became the district attorney for Centre County when he won a 1985 election. Gricar was successfully reelected in 1989, 1993, 1997, and 2001, announcing during his last term that he would retire at the end of his term in December 2005.
The district attorney never made it to his retirement date, as he disappeared in April of 2005. He called his girlfriend, Patty Fornicola, at about 11:30 a.m. on April 15, 2005, to tell her that he was driving home. He didn’t make it home, and Fornicola reported him missing late that evening.
Gricar’s car was found in the parking lot of a Lewisburg antique store the next day with his cell phone inside, but his laptop, keys, and wallet missing with no sign of foul play. His laptop was eventually discovered in the Susquehanna River beneath a bridge without the hard drive inside. A hard drive was located two months later on the river banks, but no date was recoverable. Police found that internet searches were done from his home computer including ‘how to wreck a hard drive.’
Gricar was officially declared dead in 2011. Many have offered conspiracy theories related to the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal. Gricar declined to press charges against Sandusky after allegations arose in 1998 against the former Penn State assistant football coach.
Another Student Murdered.
Penn State student Dana Bailey was found dead in her apartment on March 5, 1987. The part-time Corner Room waitress has been stabbed with a steak knife in her second-floor apartment.
An investigation revealed that someone had been watching Bailey’s apartment from a building being renovated nearby, with shoe prints from that location matching prints found in her apartment. The suspect used a bucket to reach Bailey’s window, which he cut open and entered.
In 2003, 16 years after the murder, police received an anonymous letter with two names. Both people named were questioned and investigated by police, but no connection was ever uncovered.
‘The police department is asking the author of the letter to come forward and identify themselves,’ State College police said. ‘It is imperative for the author to understand the importance to Dana’s family and the community in solving this tragic incident.’
A $30,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Bailey’s killer.
Where’s Cindy Song?
Hyun Jong ‘Cindy’ Song was an international Penn State student from South Korea in 2001 when she attended a Nov. 1 Halloween party at Player’s Nite Club — now Indigo — in downtown State College. Song left the club to go to a friend’s house, and at about 4 a.m., a friend dropped her off outside her home in the 300b lock of West Clinton Avenue at the State College Park Apartments.
Three days later, on Nov. 4, Song was reported missing by her friends. Her backpack, cell phone, and purse were all found inside her apartment. A witness claimed that Song might be a victim of Hugo Selenski, an accused murderer at the time in Luzerne County. There were 12 destroyed bodies discovered at Selenski’s home.
Selenski was convicted for two murders and received consecutive life sentences. It appears that he was never connected to Song’s disappearance, which remains an open case.
In 2013, with the assistance of the FBI, authorities obtained a DNA sample from Song’s biological parents. Those samples are now part of national databases for missing persons and unidentified remains. Authorities say there is now larger potential to find a match.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Cindy Song can contact Ferguson Township Police at 814-237-1172.
Gone But Not Forgotten.
Jennifer Cahill-Shadle disappeared in May of 2014, and police have come up with nothing but dead ends in over a year of searching for her whereabouts.
Ferguson Township Detective Jonathan Mayers, who is heading the investigation, said this past May that there is no evidence of a crime involved in the disappearance, making it difficult hard for police to obtain search warrants.
‘The most frustrating part in the hope of finding Cahill-Shadle is continuing to keep it alive in the media and keep the story out there in the public’s mind,’ Mayers said. ‘I believe there is someone out there with information and we are hoping that they are brave enough to come forward.’
Cahill-Shadle’s daughter Laura believes that her mother is alive. Missing posters can still be seen throughout State College, but it seems that police haven’t made any progress is locating the missing woman.
