The Murder of Linda Rayner (Connecticut)
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When lin arana left for a walk in human acid beach state park in the summer of one thousand nine hundred and ninety two, SHE was seeking the beauty and peace that only the ocean can bring. Instead, SHE was brutally attacked by an unknown assailant, and her case has remained unsold ever since.

In the thirty plus years since her death, investigators have identified at least one suspect, but her loved ones are still waiting for the day that they have all the answers. I'm kindly low. And this is the case of Linda rainer under Dennis.

IT was june twenty six thousand nine hundred ninety two, and forty three year old Linda and rainer had the whole afternoon ahead of her. SHE was back in her hometown of deep of her connect kit for a few days to attend a conference and spend some time with her big close net family.

But her career as a social worker always had her around a lot of people, so SHE relished the opportunity to take some time for herself on the trip too, so that friday afternoon, Linda decided to make the most of amid summer weekend in new england and take a solo walk along the ocean human acid beach state park in medicine. Connect cut was about fifteen minutes away, and he had memories. There is a kid. IT was the perfect spot for a straw in the salt water breeze.

Katherine ferried ed reports for the heartful d current that since Linda was visiting from california and didn't have a rental car, the plane was for heard to drive her parents to work in their blue one thousand nine hundred eighty nine hda accord and then SHE could take that car to the beach as long as he picked her parents back up after work winter, drop her parents off in chester and then set off towards medicine. And I reportedly passed through the park entrance by one thirty P. M.

SHE continued down towards one of the parking areas for the two million stretch of beach and parked in a lot near the max point nature center. Linda then ventured to the eastern boundaries of the park on foot, away from the busy areas where families and kids built their sam castles, and towards the more remote walking paths. And the judy favoured by Fishermen and hikers around four thirty that afternoon, the time Linda was due to pick up her parents, Charles and mary rainer SAT, waiting and wondering what was keeping their daughter IT didn't take long for a bit of worry to form in their gut the only reasonable explanation for Linda not arriving at the plant time was that something that happened throughout the evening.

Lind's parents and siblings tried to track her down. They knew he was going to him an asset. And so they drove along the many access roads to the beach, weaving the parking lots, looking for Linda and the blue honda. By nightfall, her family hadn't spotted the car in the state park, and Linda still hadn't returned home there.

Their fears that something terrible had happened were growing heavier by the second lind's parents reported her missing to police by nine o'clock that night just as heavy rains drench the connected cut coast line around five I am on saturday morning due twenty seven patrol officers with the department of environmental protection spotted a blue honda in the nature center parking lot. The license plate confirmed IT was Linda s. Parents car.

Although her family had searched parts of the park the night before, they hadn't gone that far east with the discovery of the car, the eastern end was shut down, and the search for clues began. Not long into the search, IT was against state department of environmental protection patrol officers who made a discovery that confirmed the rain or family's worst fears. Out on the rocks of mag's point was Linda s.

Lifeless body. Even from the very first moments, IT was clear that Linda did not suffer a fall or accidental injuries. Someone did this to Linda.

According to reporting by Katherine crane, ld for the heart for current, an autopsy by the chief state medical examiner found that linder cause of death was blunt trauma to the head and neck, and there was no clinical evidence of sexual assault. Linda was the victim of a violent homicide. IT typically quiet in secluded ocean side landscape of max point, transformed into an active crime scene.

State and local police poured into the park and secured the area with the support of the A P. officers. But the investigation hit a major brick wall.

Before I even began, the scene was drawing out from trench al rain that passed through overnight. The reality was that whatever evidence may have been there, footprints, hair, blood was likely all washed away. Still, at least one piece of critical evidence was recovered.

Authorities found and collected a single strand of hair. Any description of this hair, like where exactly IT was found, a color, length or other details their absent from the source material I was able to access during my research for this case. But the hair could hold information critical to the case.

And so IT was retained for a leader testing and analysis. Investigators believed that the attack occurred sometime between one thirty and four thirty P. M. The estate time Linda arrived at the time he was supposed to prepares. Police appealed to the public for information from many one who may have seen something strange or suspicious at the park during that window.

With the severity and brutality of the beating Linda sustained, police had reason to suspect that the killer may have had blood on their arms, hands and clothing and could have even gone to a bathroom to clean up before leaving the park. Over the first few days of the investigation, police distributed posters at the park with lind's photo in pictures of the clothing SHE was wearing when he left her walk, a radish orange tube top, a yellow pullover, black short sand White sneakers. Even if people didn't recognize her face, police hoped her clothing with dog memories and shake out any sightings of Linda at the park before he was killed.

The posters in other media coverage brought in numerous calls in tips for police to chase down, but the information did not develop into the swift arrest of any suspects. Now, one big question in this case from the jump was, who would want to hurt Linda? SHE was only in town for a few days, so I didn't seem likely that she'd been stocked or followed, or that Linda was singled out by someone who specifically wanted to kill her.

The scary reality was that someone could have attacked Linda for no specific reason other than he was walking alone in this remote area. Vivian li reports for the heart for current that everything about the crime appeared spontaneous. Investigators hadn't said if you'd located a murder weapon on, but they did suggest IT was something nearby state police su tenant Michael woodson called a weapon of opportunity, maybe a iraq or some other object readily available in the natural landscape.

Working off the crying me of opportunity angle, investigators further theorized that the person who killed in der was probably familiar with the location. Max point was difficult to access. There was only a single path reading in and out, with one side flink by high grass and marshland and the other by large rocks.

IT wasn't exactly a location that you stumble upon. Police also believed that although there were no signs of sexual assault, IT was possible. Her attacker intended or tried to sexually assaulting da, but escalated to homicide of violence when SHE fought back.

As for lind's family members views on everything, I thought IT was possible that Linda tried to talk to the person who did this to her. Linda had devoted much of her life to the service and support of others. SHE cancelled those in need and supported people through life's most chAllenging moments.

Her family believed that that would be totally within land's character to try and reason with her assailant or counsel them away from making a decision they couldn't take back. Maybe that was what caused the assailant to lash out. The investigation continued through the end of june and into july, in August, by september and the unofficial end to summary new england, there were still no arrests for lind's murder.

However, there was progress behind the scenes. Police were varied in their public statements about the case, but according to polar broken berries reporting for the new haven register, investigators were looking into several people in connection with land. Is murder they hoped DNA alysa of physical evidence would narrow down the list enough to move the case forward.

Among the several people under police scrutiny during the first few months of the investigation was a known violent offender who had been in prison since the seventies for the horrific beating deaths of three people. How was IT possible that a convicted multiple murderer serving a life sense became a suspect? Well, IT turns out that he was on farlow and spending the last weekend in june of one thousand nine hundred and ninety two, not far from heman s. Beach state park.

As reported by David murray, Colin poets and je d for the heartful current, in August of one thousand nine, seventy three people were out walking in west rock park of new heaven for a group outing when they were attacked by a single assailant building a large rock.

The individuals, twenty year old Williams White, fifteen year old donors, litter and twenty three year old standard hadler, were residents of the greater new haven in regional center, which provided housing and services for people with intellectual disabilities. Dona and sanda were found deceased later that day. Their schools crushed with rocks.

William was found alive but succeed to his injuries in the hospital a little over two weeks later. A U, B, I report in the noga ac daily news indicates that police followed tips that a late model blue car was seen in the area at the approximate time of the attacks that tip LED police to a suspect in new haven, twenty four year old herald me. In december of that year, herold was arrested and he confessed to the murders of William dona in SAndra. He later pleaded guilty to three counts of secondary ary murder and was sentenced to three life terms in state prison.

IT deserves mention that herald later became a suspect in the unsolved murder of eleven year old dian bui, whose name was first thought to be distinct on may one thousand nine hundred and sixty nine, fourteen year old dawn cave on may twenty six, one hundred and sixty nine, ten year old mary mount on may twenty seven, nineteen sixty nine and five year old Jennifer noon on september twenty first nineteen nineteen seventy charges were not pursued against herald in these four unsolved cases despite evidence and connections, basically because prosecutors thought he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison anyway. That's what new havin states attorney Michael darton wrote in a letter to the states board of parole, recommending that herald never be granted parole. The judge who originally handed down herald's life terms also recommended that he never be granted parole.

However, during the first decade plus of his multiple life term, herd proved himself to be a well behaved and hardworking inmate. Now he was denied parole in one thousand nine hundred eighty five, but that same year he managed to earn himself the privilege of farlow under the state's generous program that allowed most inmates single day and weekend long leaves from prison grounds, regardless of the charges that had them incarcerated in the first place. As reported by the heart for current seven years span, herold took one hundred and eighty four one a farlows and sixty eight three day weekend leaves.

During these reprieves from the confines of state prison herald married his second life, Adrian, and then during the weekend of june twenty six thousand ninety ninety two, herd and his wife rented a little cabin in the camp view motor court and waterford to celebrate their second wedding anniversary. If that date of hero's weekend farlow rings bell, it's because that was the same day Linda family reported her missing IT was the same day Linda was brutally beaten by a killer who was still at large but IT wasn't until a few months later when one of heralds fellow inmates roto letter to investigators that this possible connection came to light in the letter, which was obtained by the heart for current under condition of anonymity, the inmate said that herald admitted. But he killed in the the inmate wrote that there was a window of time on the weekend of june twenty six, one thousand nine hundred ninety two, that herold went by a pack of cigarettes and decided to smoke those cigarettes at hamon's ID beach state park.

The state park was just over twenty five miles away from the cabin herold and his wife had rented. It's there. The inmate claimed that herold said he saw a Young woman sitting alone and attack her when he returned to the cabin in his wife, herold supposedly told her that if anyone asked, tell them he was with her in new london at dinner, investigators confirmed that herd was on for a low the weekend of lind's murder, and he was within a short driving distance away from the scene of her murder.

Those factors alone were caused for closer inspection, but there was more to consider to remember. Herold was convicted of killing three people by beating them with a rock. Linda cause of death was blunt.

Forced trauma to the head and neck, possibly caused by her killer, beats her with a rock or some other weapon of opportunity. The similarities in the M. O was another major red flag. Within two months of lind's murder, herald's fellow privileges were revoked, and he was placed in the highest security unit of the prison, just below death row. It's there that herald allegedly talked about lind's murder to another inmate.

The second inmate claim, ed, that herd told him he was worried he was moved to the maximum security unit because police knew he was in the park on the daylight, was murdered and feared he might face charges in connection with the case. Now investigators say they did their due diligence vetting these jailhouse informant stories. The two inmates would not have had a chance to collaborate in compare notes to implicate herald for lind's murder.

The first inmates letter contained many details about lind's case that were accurate, but also some that were not from the source material i've been able to access. IT doesn't seem like this inmates letter contain anything unique or that wasn't already available in media covered at the time. When investigators tried to get the second in me to take a polygraph test, he backed out at the last minute.

Investigators also spoke with herald's wife, and SHE reportedly gave him an olive. SHE said they spent every second together that weekend, mostly fishing and going out to dinner. In the end, the stories from the two inmates were deemed not credible. IT seems that the investigation of herald meat for lind's murder didn't go much further. Maybe that's because police were already pursuing a different suspect.

Another man who also had a history of criminal behavior before and after a Linda was killed, and who had victimized other people in the same location or lind's body was found on the afternoon of August thirty first ninety ninety three, a woman walking with her two Young daughters along pebble beach near mags point in hamas's beach state park encounter a man exposing himself while waving at them. The mother escaped with her children, or the man ran off and got into a gray one thousand nine hundred eighty one heavy. Then later, the woman was able to identify the suspect as a forty four year old men will call gregory groggery and his wife had been camping at the park.

When police arrested him, he faced one count of public indecency and impairing the morals of minors. He pleaded IT not guilty and was released on five hundred dollars. Sure, he bond.

The file for this case has since been destroyed in accordance with connecting t superior court retention schedules. However, the clerk was able to tell me that gregory was convicted of public indecency in may of thousand nine hundred ninety four. He was sentenced to two years, but violated his problem in july of that year.

The case was disposed on march seventh thousand nine hundred and ninety five, but even before gregory was arrested for this public indecency charged in one thousand nine hundred ninety three for his act at hamas's beach state park, he blended himself on the list of possible suspects for a lind's murder. His criminal history included two other public indecency convictions and one conviction for resisting arrest. Not only that, police learned that gregory was camping at harmonised beach state park on the weekend.

Linda was murdered, and he reportedly had scratches on his arms and hands when police first interviewed him as part of the investigation, the suspects home in middle town was searched as part of the investigation until lindis murder. But what, if anything was recovered or learned during that search is not publicly available. Reporting by White f bult for the heartful d current indicates that police wanted to arrest the suspect were calling gregory, but new heaven sticks attorney Michael dearing kn.

Would not sign the warrant. The connections were compelling, but entirely circumstantial and not strong enough to support an arrest in the eyes of the state's attorney. Physical evidence would have tightened up the case, but most of IT washed away in the rain, and that single strain of hair still had yet to be tested or compared to any samples from any suspects.

IT seems that investigators were playing IT exceptionally safe with that strange of hair. And for good reason, the fear was that because the testing would destroy the sample, if they didn't get accurate results, the first time, future or follow up testing would be impossible. So state police were still trying to locate a lab that could conduct this advanced D.

N. A testing with conclusive results. Around the one year anniversary of lind's murder in june one thousand nine hundred and ninety three, police had almost sent off the hair for medicine real DNA testing, but the lab didn't have a great track record with the method, and so they ultimately decided against that and continued the search for a lab that could perform the analysis.

In the meantime, the push for information from the public was as strong as ever. Police in lind's family encouraged anyone who visited the park that weekend who may have seen someone running or walking away from the area in a suspicious manner to call police with that information. No detail was insignificant.

State police said they knew what they were looking for and a tip could change everything in the stagnant case. And yet that one game changing tip was elusive. Another year past, bringing another anniversary without an arrest in one thousand nine hundred and ninety four, state police announced ten thousand dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of lind's killer.

Four years later, in one thousand nine hundred and ninety eight, the reward increased to a massive fifty thousand dollars. The reward start up some new calls, but none that let do any real progress in the case. Eventually, the hair sample collected at the scene was sent off to the FBI laboratory to perform sophisticated DNA analysis.

However, the results of that testing were, quote, disappointing and inconclusive. It's unclear whether the entire sample was used or if IT was destroyed as a result of the testing, according to reporting by jane E. D for the heartful d current by the seven year university of Linda rain's murder in one hundred and ninety nine, police maintained that they had a strong suspect in the case, but still not enough evidence to back up their suspicions and secure arrest each year.

Lind's family returned to the spot in hamon's ID beach state park, where he was killed and reflected on her life and all SHE meant to them. They layed flowers on the rocks and tossed blooms into the sea. When they spoke about her runs resolved case, their words were absent of any vittoria or hate.

They continued linus legacy of compassion and love, and they just wanted to know that whoever ripped Linda from their lives so violently would never have the opportunity to cause another family the same pain. That was a big fear for the police, too, that lind's killer had the capacity to kill again, if not apprehended soon. Just after the nine year anniversary of linder rainer murder, another homicide in connect cut had people wondering if that big fear had realized.

According to reporting by amis ka for the middle town press, around eight thirty in the morning on july seventeen, two thousand, one a maintenance worker at the saga hills apartment complex at eleven fifty one washington street in middle town connect cute noticed someone on the ground in a locked storage area.

On closer inspection, behind the medal door, the maintenances worker realized IT was the badly beaten ten body of a woman, long time resident, eighty six year old Joseph hie. caria. An autopsy performed by the office of the state chief medical examiner found that Joseph e.

Died from blunt trauma to the head and chest. You've been killed in the same place SHE was found and was likely lying there in the storage unit for a few before he was discovered. IT wasn't clear what, if anything, was used as a weapon to inflict the wounds.

Middle town police were considering the possibility that an attacker forcibly hit her head against the wall. Also unknown at the time was the motive for such a killing. IT didn't appear that Joseph e had been robbed, and her apartment on the top flow of the building was undisturbing.

Stiglitz ouldn't say if they knew how Josephine got into that locked storage unit area, IT reportedly wasn't actively used by current tenants, and only a few people had a key to access IT. Police said they'd found a set of keys near Joseph's body, but weren't saying if there was a key to the unit in the set. When IT came to developing a list of suspects for her murder, police were pretty confident that this wasn't a random person off the street.

Christopher keeping reports were the current that since the storage unit wasn't easily accessible, IT was kind of talked away of the main level of the building is not an area you would just come across by chance. Police theorized the assailant either new Josephine or was familiar with the building in the store geria itself. Interestingly enough, there was a tenant in the building who was already known to investigators a person whose history had him on their radar for a still unsolved murder from nine years earlier.

Yeah, a suspect in Linda rain's case was one of Josephine cattaneo neighbors in the apartment complex, though reporting doesn't use the suspect's name, a little cross referencing of public records shows that the person we are calling gregory also lived at eleven fifty one washington street in middle. Investigators were kind of vague. When asked about gregory, police said they were aware he lived in the the building, but didn't consider him a suspect for Josephine's murder, but they also hadn't ruled anybody out yet, and the investigation was still ongoing.

About ten days after her body was discovered, Joseph in's case was still open inactive without any indication that an arrest was on the horizon. Undisclosed evidence was sent off testing at the state forensic science laboratory, but if anything came of that testing, IT wasn't enough to close the case. And that's how the case remains today.

Joseph in cattaneo murder, just like linder inter, is still unsolved. Herold meat was never charged or convicted of any crimes related to the unsolved homicide of Lindane. He maintained that he had nothing to do with lind's death and the fact that he lost his farlow privileges over his suspected involvement made of angry but hero's possible connection to lind's murder was and is worthy of some consideration.

The amo was similar. He beat the heads of all his confirmed victims with rocks. William, dona and SAndra were out for a walk like Linda herold was in the area of humans at beach state park on the weekend of Linda murder.

Two separate inmates came forward with their stories about hero discussing the case and allegedly admitting to one of them that he killed blender, though the stories were later deemed not credible. And then again, parallels. Known victims were Younger than Linda, between fifteen and twenty three years old.

The other murders were hurled is a suspect, dian dui, don cave, mary mount and Jennifer noon. They are all children, so arguably a much different victimology that Linda does not fit into. Herd said in a two thousand interview that he was fed up with the accusations that he had anything to do with lind's murder were the murders of the four children in one hundred and sixty nine and ninety.

Part of me wonders if he was so willing to confess to the murder of William dona in SAndra, and he was already serving a life sense. Why wouldn't he also confess to other crimes if he was, in fact, guilty of them? But, you know, maybe he was holding out hope that a follow program would be reinstated, or that someday he'd be eligible for parole, who knows? But hair old never again saw life outside of a cell.

He died in prison custody in two thousand and seven. As for the other suspect in lindy's case, the person i've referred to as gregory, he has also never been charged or convicted of any crimes related to the murder of landino or to the murder of Josephine carton ia. In the source material I ve been able to dig up, this person has not been publicly identified by his real name.

However, through cross referencing public records, age and birthday addresses and other details uncovered in my research for the case, I was able to figure out the suspect's real name. To the best of my knowledge, he is still alive. At least a person by the same name and of the same age with the same past addresses and the same previous convictions is still alive.

So I tried a few phone numbers I found tied to the suspect's real name. The first was a cell phone number. IT went straight to voice male.

hi, this is please message, and I will tell you that, thanks.

hi. My name is Kelly. I'm a journalist. I'm trying to reach someone named.

And this number came back as the name on the voice male message didn't appear to be connected to the man I was looking for. So maybe the cell phone number I had was older, incorrect. Then I tried a residential landline number because those still exist.

Hi there. I'm trying to reach. This was the number I have for him. Does he live at this number?

Who's calling .

my named Kelly? I'm a journalist. I'm working on a story about something that happened in connect cut in two thousand one. And I was hoping to speak with about IT.

My headphones didn't pick .

up that tail tail click on the other end of the phone, so I didn't realize they had hung up before I finished my bill. But I never successfully reached the person I believe is a suspect in land dain's murder and who once lived in the same building as Joseph I. E.

carta. Hopefully, the investigators tasked with solving these two unresolved cases have had Better luck than I did. Speaking of the investigators, when I requested records for Joseph e. Cattaneo case from the middle town police department as anticipated, my request was denied since it's still considered to be under investigation.

However, records bureau supervisor sergeant alias smart wrote in an email e response that if I look any information that might aid the investigation, I should send IT to police info at middle city dark gov. So I sent over the last phone number I tried for gregory and a quick little summary of what I learned while researching both cases, really just to remind middle town pd that Joseph in's case is still in solved. And maybe pigs of interest, if I had been a while since those files were reviewed, of course, I did the same for lind's case too.

You've heard a little bit about lda iner already, but I want you to get a full sense of the kind of person in the world lost when he still uni dense fied killer ended her life that day. More than thirty years ago. Linda graduated from valley regional high school in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven and then went to the university of connecting and went on to teach english at windsor and rocky high schools while simultaneously working on her master's degree at westly in university.

SHE moved out west to california in nineteen seventy five and began what would become her life's work of activism and volunteerism. That's how SHE met the man who would become her husband, Larry for law, who was also a dedicated volunteer and activist. Together, Larry and Linda moved to santa rosa in nineteen eighty one and started a mobile soup kitchen from the back of their vote swag in van.

They offered lodging in their home to families who needed IT. And we're known for their generosity and kindness to those experiencing homelessness and people facing food and security. Linda also worked with family's experiencing grief and loss as a beaver ment and volunteer program coordinator at a hospice SHE LED, a support group for people who had lost their partners to the AIDS epidemic.

A supervisor at the volunteer center of sona county, Karen Johnson, referred to lda as, quote, the backbone and the heart of the volunteer efforts in this county, and quote, in her brief but meaningful and purpose field life. Linda was honored by the california legislature for her charity work. After her death.

A volunteerism award in her honor recognized those who Carried Linda s. Legacy forward, but maybe the most special of the recognition ans Linda received was from her daughter, SHE said. SHE was the best mom in the world.

Lind's murder had a far reaching impact on her family and her community. Unto this day, investigators have been unable to bring charges against any suspect that person could still be out there. In a letter from Linda sister Janet rainer, published in the hartford current in August of one thousand nine hundred ninety seven, SHE addressed her sister's uni dense fied murderer directly.

Quote, I have been hurt by people I know, but you, a complete stranger, have hurt me more than I could have imagined. You ended a career of caring that is rare in this world. You tore her from us so violently that the Martin an could not make her presentable for viewing by her family.

Please get the help you need so that you don't harm another innocent life. And quote, if you have any information about the one hundred and ninety two murder of Linda rainer in hamon's, c. Beach state park, please call the connective cold case unit at one eight six six six two three eight zero five eight next week is enough week for dark down east, but i'll be back the following thursday with a new episode.

Thank you for listening to dark downest. You can find all source material for this case at dark down's dotcom. Be sure to follow the show on instagram at dark downest.

This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm kindly low.

And this is start, Johnny. Dark donis is a production of Kelly media and audio check. So what do you think .

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