Who Killed Letha? | With Beverly Gumm and Patches Rutherford (2 Parts)

The Murder Police Podcast  > Show Notes >  Who Killed Letha? | With Beverly Gumm and Patches Rutherford (2 Parts)
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The Unsolved Murder of teenager Letha Rutherford

June and July 2024

In the heart of rural Kentucky, a mystery remains unsolved. The disappearance of Letha, a beloved young woman, has haunted her family and community for over three decades. This week’s podcast episode delves into the chilling details of her case, revealing the emotional rollercoaster experienced by those who knew and loved her.

Letha was adored by everyone in her community. Described as having “literally zero enemies,” her sudden disappearance in December 1991 sent shockwaves through her small town. Despite exhaustive search efforts by family, friends, and local authorities, Letha remained missing for nearly four months. The community’s hope dwindled as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months.

The discovery of Letha’s body in April 1992 behind her own home raised more questions than answers. Found in a fetal position under a pile of tin and debris, it was evident to many that she had been moved. The police and family members alike were puzzled as to how she could have been missed in previous searches, especially with trained canines involved.

In this episode, we hear from Beverly and Patches, two individuals closely connected to Letha. They recount the harrowing day her body was found, the subsequent police investigation, and the lingering doubts and suspicions that have persisted over the years. Their emotional testimonies paint a vivid picture of the grief and frustration that comes with an unsolved case.

The episode also explores the forensic challenges faced by investigators. Initial autopsies provided little information, but a subsequent examination years later revealed knife marks on Letha’s bones, suggesting she was stabbed from behind. The discovery of a knife, believed to be the murder weapon, on the property further complicates the narrative. Was the crime committed in the house? Was the knife brought back after the fact? These are questions that continue to plague those seeking justice for Letha.

Family members have their own theories about what happened that fateful night. They discuss the suspicious behaviors of certain individuals and the eerie details that have come to light over the years. Yet, without concrete evidence, these remain theories, leaving the family in a state of painful uncertainty.

As we listen to Beverly and Patches, it becomes clear that the passage of time has done little to heal the wounds left by Letha’s untimely death. Their hope now lies in renewed interest in the case and the possibility that someone, somewhere, might come forward with information that could finally bring closure.

This episode is a poignant reminder of the lasting impact of unsolved crimes on families and communities. It calls on listeners to reflect on the importance of justice and the relentless pursuit of truth. Tune in to hear the full story and join us in keeping Letha’s memory alive.






Show Transcript

Beverly: Looking all around where she lived. Like I say, they live kind of in the woods, all back down through the trees and just everywhere. And they couldn’t find anything.

Patches: Yeah, like my dad, my cousins, they walked all around down in the woods looking for her. went around and asked people, everybody that they thought that, you know, she might know or anybody that she was friends with her. friends. I mean, like everybody looked, you know, because everybody liked her. I mean, she had literally zero enemies. Everybody loved her.

Wendy Lyons: So I guess you all were just kind of like, it’s been nearly four months. We just aren’t going to find her.

Beverly: And then I think, well, we all think she was moved. We think she was somewhere. Even the police said that when they found her, it looked like she had been, she was kind of like in a fetal position. Like she’d been either in like in the trunk of a car or something humped up and they had moved her and put her underneath a big pile of tin. Garbage tin. And then,

Wendy Lyons: Do you take me back to that day when she was found? Who contacted you all to say, we have finally found her? Was it the police?

Beverly: No, it was a, it was a family member, I think it was her mom that called me and said they found Letha. And I was like, where? And it was behind their house. Right behind their house.

Wendy Lyons: Which seemed odd if everybody had been looking and thought they were.

Beverly: That’s what I think. She had been moved because she hadn’t been there before, because all those dogs would have found her. And I was like, well, we’re, you know, she’s over here. They’re over here getting her out now. So I went over there. It was horrible. I mean, it was horrible sitting there waiting for them to get her out. And of course she had to get a closer look and I didn’t. She went on up and it bothered her bad after she went all the way up and actually saw her. Cause you know, she’d been decaying for four months. It wasn’t a very pretty sight.

Wendy Lyons: So you actually patches. You saw her?

Patches: I climbed the fence and looked.

Beverly: Yeah, the police had it marked off. Wouldn’t let nobody go down there.

Patches: And there was like a wire fence.

Beverly: And she went around kind of and just went over there and looked. And she could, she said she could tell it was her because she had on a nightgown that she knew that blown her.

Wendy Lyons: Oh. So she had obviously, she didn’t just, get home from tobacco. She had probably gotten ready for bed and was ready to bed down for tonight. She had to work tomorrow.

Wendy Lyons: So do they, did they say, I, you know, I’m so at a loss for words here. Did they say how she was just mysteriously found, who went looking and just mysteriously found her? How did that come to be? Somebody’s just walking. It’s springtime. Are they picking berries? Were you doing out there looking is what I’m wondering.

Beverly: Her cousin was riding a moped or something.

Patches: I think it was a four wheeler.

Beverly: Four wheeler. And was it?

Patches: It was his dog. It was actually his dog that found her. Yeah, he was just out riding his four wheel around, and his dog found her.

Beverly: Saw a part of her hand or something sticking out or something.

Patches: I think he’s had a foot.

Beverly: I remember now.

Patches: It’s been a long time.

Wendy Lyons: So just out there riding because it’s in the country and it’s woody. Yeah.

Patches: And that’s what we all did out there anyways. It’s horses or four wheelers or whatever. you know, when you live in the country, you got access to trees and trails and you use them. he was just out on the score.

Wendy Lyons: Well, and then he spotted her where the dog found her.

Patches: He said his dog was over. Got over in the, It’s like a. I don’t want to say trash pile. It was more, tin and wood.

Wendy Lyons: And just stuff where you throw something.

Patches: Farm equipment or, you know, it was just like a holler at you, throw your crap in. because you don’t haul that stuff to town and put it in the dump. and so his dog wouldn’t come back. So when he kept calling his dog, his dog was over there digging around. When he went over there, who found her?

Wendy Lyons: Wow. So I guess this person called the police and said, we found her.

Patches: I’m not sure if they contacted the police themselves or if another family member did. I don’t remember. they may have called, maybe, you know, a parent or somebody. But, I just know that, you know, he was, you know, a family member, founder.

Wendy Lyons: Wow. And like, like I said, it makes you wonder, how did all these people look here for so long? Probably walked right past that spot.

Patches: We had several family members that said they actually stood on the very tin pile that they found her in with dogs.

Police dogs went up there, and there was nothing. So, yeah, it makes you wonder

With the dogs. When the police dogs went up there, and there was nothing.

Wendy Lyons: So, yeah, it makes you wonder, was she indeed moved, placed there?

Patches: That’s.

Wendy Lyons: Yeah, because you, you know, these are, canines are trained to find people, especially that are already deceased. And so how would a canine not spot that or people. If you said a foot sticking out, I mean, granted, I know it’s December, but here in Kentucky we might have snow, we might have 80 degrees in December. Who knows? so it just makes you wonder if that foot was spotted then, how was it not spotted back then?

Beverly: Yeah, like you say, even in December, if she was there, I think those dogs would have, would have known it.

Beverly: But she wasn’t there. I don’t think. I think they moved her and even I think that police guy thought she’d been mowed.

Wendy Lyons: Wow. So at that point, what happened? They, I guess get her and maybe take her for an autopsy to see if they can determine a cause of death.

Beverly: And I, and she had been stabbed at that.

Patches: I think she was autopsied a couple of times before they actually detected they.

Beverly: Actually buried her and then resumed her body. Yeah, after they buried her, it was a few years later. A couple years later, they resumed her body and looked for more evidence.

Wendy Lyons: What do you think they did that for? Just to see if there was an additional cause of death or just strictly for more evidence?

Beverly: I guess.

Patches: I mean, yeah, I think it had kind of become a cold case and then there was little attention to it and somebody had picked it back up. And I don’t think, like the first autopsy revealed a lot of information. and so they had decided to autopsy her again. and so, you know, just to kind of get like maybe a better picture of, you know, what had happened. And the second autopsy, I believe, is when they determined that there were like, I think they said there were like knife marks or something on her, on her bones.

Beverly: So, and they kind of said that everyone who had stabbed her had done it from behind. Like they’d come up behind her. Oh, and, she, they found the knife and I think, oh, they did. And I think it was her,

Wendy Lyons: The one that was missing out of her purse. Where was the knife found?

Beverly: I can’t really remember where they said that. Was it in the house or was it.

Patches: I think they found the knife. I don’t remember. I know they found it on the property, but I don’t remember if it was in the house or outside. They did find the knife on it.

Wendy Lyons: So had there been signs in the house of any trauma or signs of a struggle or blood?

Beverly: They wouldn’t let us go in the room. the room that, where she had slept and stayed, they had it off with those yellow ribbons they used.

Patches: They kept it sealed off.

Beverly: They kept it.

Wendy Lyons: So when they took it down, did her brother say that room was a mess.

Patches: I don’t. Again, I don’t think that. He never said anything really about the room.

Beverly: I don’t think there was any evidence.

Patches: I don’t think there was any evidence in the room that, the room. I don’t ever remember anybody saying that the room had been disturbed.

Wendy Lyons: Stabbing took place. If there was evidence of that. Or maybe she was taken off the property. But then you’re saying if the knife was on the property, did they bring the knife back?

Patches: I think they did it in the.

Beverly: House and maybe cleaned up or something.

Patches: Yeah.

Beverly: Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: So I guess I does. I guess her family, we’ve talked to one of her friends. I, ah, guess the friend certainly had an idea. I’m wondering, does the family, without calling names, have you all put your heads together and kind of come up with, we think this is what happened, or we think this is who did it?

Patches: Of course.

Beverly: Yeah, we kind of have.

Wendy Lyons: And everybody kind of has the same general idea of the person, I think.

Beverly: So, of course you have no proof, right? What’s anything that proof?

Wendy Lyons: That’s right. It’s nothing.

Patches: There’s, you know, little things, that have, you know, like hindsight is 2020. I, remember the day. So she would have been missing. That would have been her first day missing. Obviously, we didn’t know she was missing yet. I had went to the house with my dad. they was all. They were all chicken fires. That’s what they did. That was their pastime. and, when me and dad got there, and I don’t remember why we went, it might have been to cut more wood, probably cut more wood. but I went up there with my dad, and there was a couple of guys there. And there was a barrel out in the yard, in the front with the backyard. But it was kind of like the front yard because that was all the door. We used their back door like a front door. So technically would have been the backyard. There, was a big barrel there, and it was full of like, bloody sheets. And I said, I looked over and I said, man, y’all been trimming chickens? Cause that’s what chicken fighters do when their stags get up to a certain age. They cut their comb off and all the little hangly bits that other roosters can grab onto. And I said, y’all been cutting chickens?

Letha says she never thought sheets could be used for anything else

And they were like, yeah. And I was like, oh. And me and my dad just went on about our day. Nothing. never thought a thing about it. Not a thing.

Wendy Lyons: Wow. Now do you know if her bed sheet was missing off of her bedev.

Patches: We don’t know. We don’t know. Those are details. We don’t know. And like I said at the time, it never even occurred to me that those sheets could be for anything other than trim and resources.

Wendy Lyons: Right. Because that’s what they did when they reached a certain age. Now, the person that you, you all kind of have in your mind, when you said, were you all trimming those stacks, was that person there?

Patches: Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: And that person would often trim also. So it wouldn’t have been odd that.

Patches: No, no, no, it wasn’t odd. It wasn’t odd that. I mean, if they were trimming roosters that day, it wouldn’t have been.

Wendy Lyons: No, I mean, that that person was.

Patches: No, it wouldn’t. It would not have been odd. He was there a lot.

Wendy Lyons: Wow. Did. Did Letha ever give you any indication through your olds talking or you. Like you said, you were like a mom and you were like a sister. Did she ever give you any inkling that that person kind of just made her healthy jeebies?

Beverly: Kind of, yeah, she did kind of creeped around.

Wendy Lyons: What did, big hog and little hog say? Did they know she felt like that?

Beverly: Well, big hog, he was already dead.

Patches: He was already her brother.

Wendy Lyons: Oh.

Beverly: So he was kind of young, and he did something stupid, like break in some pop machines or something. Yeah, he stole, you know, Pepsi machines that set out and you put a quarter in, get you a pop.

Patches: Yeah. Ah, he stole not just the money, but the whole thing.

Beverly: It was just kind of dumb. But it was in Jessam county, so he couldn’t leave Jessamy county.

Wendy Lyons: He just wanted a soda machine at home.

Patches: Yeah, I guess that whole thing.

Wendy Lyons: He was. I mean, he was in it to win it, really. He wasn’t just getting the quarters out.

Beverly: He wanted the hopping and the coffee. Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: He wanted the machine to soda.

Patches: And he was, what, maybe 20 year older than me?

Beverly: He was about 20. He was about 18. They weren’t much difference in their age.

Wendy Lyons: Wow.

Patches: He was just a, you know, silly kid, and just like all the rest of us were silly kids.

Wendy Lyons: Yeah. So you mentioned that you had, looking back, that the sheet was like. Now, that may mean something. Which. Who knew? If the police, maybe they burned the sheet before the police could investigate.

Patches: I’m sure they did. I’m sure as soon as we left, that’s what happened.

Wendy Lyons: Because you noticed it. So were there. What other signs were there that you thought, you know? Now that makes sense.

Patches: just minor details like, you know, her brother telling my mom that, you know, the door was open and the only thing missing was her knife out of her purse and all her stuff was there. And just, like, the people that went to pick her up saying that the door was open a couple of inches, you know, just kind of things like that. and then, you know, my mom has, like, firsthand accounts of people that have told her stuff that would be here, say, for me. So, but, you know, just again, you know, the people that kind of were coming and going after her dad died, the things that were happening that wouldn’t have happened when he was there. I mean, it was just like once you step back and you start looking at the big picture of, you know, the people that were there and kind of how their life has went and the direction their life has went after in the years, you know, I mean, we all grew up. We all. Most of us grew up, got jobs, you know, got careers. you know, so. And the person that she was the most afraid of their life did not go in that kind of a direction.

Beverly: Someone told me some things without revealing names

Wendy Lyons: Now, Beverly, Pat just said that you have some things that, you know, I guess feelings are things that you’ve been told. Is there anything without revealing names that you can share or that you feel comfortable sharing that maybe?

Beverly: Well, like I say, the person that told me some stuff was, of course, for me, it’s just what she’s saying. And, because I have no way to prove that what she said was true, but it, you know, and added up what she told me. And I said, well, you know, did you tell the police this? And she said, yeah, she said, but they don’t really count her word as being, you know, because she was kind of, drunk and stuff. Drank a lot. And, I mean, every time you’d see her, she’d be drunk and just kind of strung out. And, I mean, one day we was riding down the road, and there she was right in the middle of Taste Creek. Backdoor pick for a bob roll, you know, so she was kind of. And she wasn’t real.

Patches: She struggled with a lot of mental health.

Beverly: Yeah. She wasn’t real sharp.

Wendy Lyons: Are you able to share what she shared without telling her name or giving names? No. Okay. Okay.

Patches: M so we’ll back up.

Beverly: We’ll back up. Machine out.

Patches: Just because I can take. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you could take out whatever you want to take out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If I remember correctly, he was literally on probation and he could not leave Jessamine county. So he was only. How many miles is it from uncle Rob’s to uncle hall, about 3 miles. Literally 3 miles from his sister.

Wendy Lyons: That is real funny, because I’m thinking if I had taken it, I just set it up, kept putting pops in it. Made my friends bomb so I can make some money. Okay, so we’ll leave out that person. I’ll back up, but when we stop recording, I want to know what she told you. I know we can’t do it on this.

Police didn’t take Letha’s story seriously because of her drunken ways

Okay, so let me compose myself. So the person who had came to you, her story with regard to the police, just wasn’t really credible because of who she was.

Beverly: Yeah. And they just didn’t take her serious. Cause I said, well, then, you know, why didn’t you report that? Why? I did. They just didn’t believe me.

Wendy Lyons: Did you?

Beverly: They said it wouldn’t stand up in court. I did. By some of the things that she said.

Wendy Lyons: Yeah. Like, how would she have known? Maybe.

Beverly: Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: You know.

Beverly: But she was a drunk. She stayed drunk all the time.

Patches: She was worse than a drunk. You were just naive.

Beverly: Well, and I’m sure she did dope and pills. I don’t know what else she did. But she was always just so goofy acting that you couldn’t hardly take nothing. She said, sure.

Wendy Lyons: And they probably. The police probably thought the same thing. Maybe they had had run ins with her before.

Beverly: And I think, too, what they thought is, if this comes to trial and they can’t prove nothing, then it’s done.

Wendy Lyons: Right.

Beverly: You know? So I didn’t think they felt like that. They could probably prove.

Wendy Lyons: Yeah.

Beverly: That she was telling the truth.

Wendy Lyons: Wow. Now, I guess, later, did she keep on with that story of, I’m telling you, this is what I think.

Patches: She was very about that sort.

Beverly: And then I, Of course, I hadn’t seen her. I haven’t seen her for years. I don’t know what everybody.

Patches: She might not even be alive.

Beverly: She’s still alive or not.

Wendy Lyons: Wow. So you all kind of felt like, even despite her drunken ways, that she.

Patches: Was too scared to tell her story.

Wendy Lyons: She might be onto something. You’re thinking, wow. So that was kind of something else to sit in the back of your mind for all these years. Like, you kind of know, but you can’t do anything about it.

Beverly: Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: So I guess years passed and everybody grew up and moved on, and I. Nothing ever became of it.

Beverly: Cause they would look. And then she had another aunt that, was my husband’s sister. Her name was Mary. Cause she’s dead now. But she would rarely try to call the police. And try to find out if there’s any new leads and all. And it just never went nowhere. It’s like it kinda got to just be a dead end and nobody looked anymore, so. And she’s been gone, what, 32 years, I guess.

Patches: Something about like that.

Beverly: Yeah. Cause she. She went missing like, December of 91. And then we found her in April of 92. So it’s been 33 years or something like that. 32 years or whatever.

Wendy Lyons: So do you all still keep in touch with her brother? Her mom?

Beverly: I see him every now and then. I don’t, I don’t. Her mom. Her mom kind of got a little sick. And I have another daughter, Rachel, that she worked in a nursing home in Ecclesfield. And she said Letha’s mom was in the nursing home. And of course, I don’t think she’s there now. I think they moved her. But, you know, she just. The man she was married to, he died. So I hadn’t seen her mother for like years and years.

Patches: So I don’t see her brother. I see him every time.

Beverly: I saw him at Walmart, Nicklausville one day. Just very rare. Every now and then, a scene. Of course, he’s got a, wife and some kids of his own. And he lives, I don’t know. And they can see what he is, but I don’t never see him. But nobody, everybody just kind of quit talking about her. And it was just like him. Sweet little lethae. Beautiful child.

M. M. loved her mom to death. I know she loved my mom, man

Just lovable. Loved her to death. And, you know, she’s just gone and nobody don’t ever really know what else. So.

Patches: She loved my mom. I know she loved my mom, man. I mean, they were close and, you know, it was, you know, always, ain’t bear believe this and ain’t bear believe that, and ain’t bear believes my mama, you know.

Beverly: And I’m like, oh, my gosh.

Wendy Lyons: Wow.

Beverly: So I took them back. Course, the mom was up there asleep and the door was wide open. I said, in the same house? She lived in that house pretty much her whole life, same house. But she was like, oh, I didn’t know she left. I’m like, well, she said, she’s hungry. You need to get out of the bed and fix her something to eat, you know. Yeah, yeah. But anytime they needed something, they would come to us. Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: Now, did they end up having a. Ah, once they had found her? you said that they had done two autopsies on her. Is she, you know, buried here locally? I guess, down near river.

Beverly: It’s in Lexington at that cemetery. In Lexington. What’s the name of that?

Patches: I, don’t know. They’re all buried there.

Beverly: It’s that one that’s on for sale as well.

Patches: I know, but I can’t think of the name of the whole family is buried there.

Wendy Lyons: They’re across from, Cardinal Hill.

Patches: Yeah. Yep, that’s the one.

Beverly: Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: So she. So you all had her a service and. Yeah, after they discovered her, she was.

Beverly: Closed, closed casket and all, you couldn’t. But, yeah, at that time, I was so angry at her mom. I didn’t even speak to her at the funeral. I was just like, if you would just talk to her, let her come to see you, she wouldn’t be where she’s at now. I kind of blamed her, which. It might have been wrong of me, but I was just. She tried to come up and approach me, and I just. I turned around, walked off. M. not today.

Patches: Well, you know, the thing of it is, you know, little hog was my cousin. Me and little hog were real, real close growing up, too. and we’re not close as adults, which is sad, but, you know, like, you don’t want to speak ill of anybody’s parent because you love them. You know, the loyalty lies with them, like, the loyalty lies with, you know, that this is his mom. but I don’t think she was a very good mama.

Beverly: She had a fairly good relationship with him, though, after Letha had died, I think. So she kind of, you know, it changed her, I think, a little bit. And I’m sure that she grieved and, you know, really wish she had done different, too. I’m sure. But, you know, I just. I didn’t never really feel like talking to her much about it after that kind of.

Wendy Lyons: You don’t have anything good to say? Don’t say nothing at all.

Beverly: Yeah.

Judith says it would be nice to at least get justice for Letha

Wendy Lyons: So, I guess, you know, in closing, what would your all’s hope be? That there is a. I mean, obviously, probably nobody’s going to come forward. You wish they would, but it is a cold case, and I think David has spoken. I wasn’t able to attend, but David had spoken to a couple of the detectives that are working that. So I guess ultimately, your all’s hope.

Patches: Would be what, interview different people?

Beverly: Yeah.

Patches: Talk to people that, you know, that you haven’t talked to yet. I’ve never been talked to. My mom’s never been talked to. You know, she’s one of the last remaining people, adults, and were adults at the time alive. there’s a few others, but not many. you know, but talk to, you know, the people that saw her every day. Interview people you haven’t interviewed yet. Reopen it and put the pieces together, you know, start watching how, you know, the crackhead story fits the timeline.

Wendy Lyons: maybe even interview the people that was there.

Patches: She’s still alive. Interview her.

Wendy Lyons: Yes. Or the people that was coming in and out of the house.

Patches: Right.

Wendy Lyons: There was a lot of people that would come and go. Makes me wonder if any of those people have ever been interviewed since they were coming and going from the house.

Patches: I think some of them were, but.

Beverly: But they didn’t ever get in the order with them. It’s just like nobody knew nothing.

Patches: I think back then, a lot of people were just. It was fear. They were afraid to. I think they had strong suspicions even back then, but I think they were.

Beverly: Afraid of what would happen to them.

Patches: What would happen to them. Yeah.

Wendy Lyons: So maybe your hope would be years later, now they’re older.

Patches: Maybe they’re not afraid anymore.

Beverly: And they’re not afraid, but one of them that was there, that probably could have told us everything. He’s dead now, too. One of the boys that was there.

Wendy Lyons: Wow.

Patches: That, nine times out of ten, was probably a witness.

Beverly: M he’s dead now, too, so it’s just hard to figure it all out.

Wendy Lyons: Well, our hope also would be, I mean, in the grand scheme of things, that we could, assist in breaking this open for you all. So the family has answers. I know it doesn’t, unfortunately, bring Letha back, but it would be nice to at least get justice for her and answers for you all.

Beverly: Yeah. Cause we never had, you know, never had closure with her. It’s, you know, early on, we hoped that they would find out who did it and had to be, you know, paid for their crime. But then after a while, it’s just like, well, they’re never gonna find who did that.

Patches: Yeah. So you got 32. About 32 years. She’s been dead 32 years and 32 years. They’ve done what they wanted to.

Beverly: So she’s been dead longer than she lives. Well, Judith, she’s going to ask each of you individually. Just ask her if you could speak, to leave. If you’re m taking a shot at that.

Patches: That’s a pretty important thing. But if you could speak to Letha today, I would.

Wendy Lyons: Well, I want to ask you all, if you could speak to Letha today, what would you say to her?

Beverly: I tell her I love her. I miss her. But if I could have done anything different back then, I would have, but I just didn’t know how bad the situation was when she. She talked about how uncomfortable she had gotten. Just didn’t seem to realize how bad it was. And, like I say, I had a baby at that time that was nine months old, and I was real busy with her, and I probably just didn’t pay enough attention to Letha. But, yeah, if I could talk to her now, I’d tell her I love her very much.

Patches: Patches, I, guess kind of the same thing you, know, I love you. I’m sorry that, you know, I didn’t pick up on the, you know, what you were trying to say without saying it. And I wish she would have been brave enough to tell my dad, because.

Beverly: I think if she had told him that he might want to got to the bottom of things. Course, like I say, he’s dead now, too. There’s so many people that was there then that’s not here anymore. But, you know, he loved her like a daughter, too. She loved him. But I think the people that. That she was afraid of, she was afraid to get anybody else involved. Afraid that it would be harmful for them. And I think that’s why a lot of people that made a new something wouldn’t really say nothing because they feared for their own life.

Wendy Lyons: Well, I hope that somehow, someway, we get some answers for you all and for Letha, and we really appreciate you all taking your time to speak with us. I know it’s not ever easy to peel those layers off and reopen those wounds, but thank you so much, beverly and patches, for sharing Aletha’s story. And I hope somebody somewhere comes, forward or maybe a new interview. Like you said, patches can take place and shed some light with these new detectives that have taken over, and hopefully, we’ll get some answers for your family. So thank you.

Beverly: Thank you. Thank you very much.


Episode Keywords
Missing Person, Cold Case, Unsolved Mystery, Letha’s Disappearance, Family Search, Police Investigation, Rural Setting, Foul Play Suspected, Autopsy Results, Evidence Discovery, Canine Search, Forensic Analysis, Family Interview, Crime Reconstruction, Witness Testimony, Emotional Impact, Community Involvement, Search Efforts, Suspected Foul Play, Crime Scene

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