(MENAFN) Nearly 45 years after the discovery of the body of a woman on a logging road in western Massachusetts, investigators have identified her through advanced genetic testing. Patricia Ann Tucker, 28, was found buried under a pile of leaves, stuffed underneath a log, on November 15, 1978, by a group of kids playing in Granby. She had been shot in the temple, and investigators believed she was killed about three months earlier in August 1978. For decades, the woman known as "Granby Girl" was buried in a local cemetery with a headstone marked "Unknown."
About two years ago, Massachusetts authorities obtained Tucker's DNA profile through a forensic laboratory and eventually identified a woman in Maryland who was likely related to her. Police contacted the woman, who led them to Tucker's son, who was 5 years old when Tucker vanished. Comparison of his DNA to Tucker's resulted in a 100% parent/child match.
At a news conference, Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan said, "This investigation won't stop until we identify her killer and bring the family an additional measure of closure and justice." It's not yet known who killed Tucker, who had been married several times and was also known as Patricia Heckman and Patricia Dale. At the time of her disappearance and death, she was known as Patricia Coleman, married to Gerald Coleman. The two were living in East Hampton, Connecticut.
Coleman, who died in a Massachusetts state prison in 1996, is a person of interest in his wife's death, but he never reported her missing. Tucker's son, Matthew Dale, said in a statement read at the news conference, "Thank you for never giving up on her. At least I have some answers now after 44 years. It's a lot to process, but hopefully, the closure can begin now." The investigation, which has spanned decades, will continue until each and every possible lead is explored.
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