Send us a text

The 1980s were a terrifying time for some of the population's most vulnerable in Salt Lake City, Utah: A predator was targeting elderly women who lived alone. When numbers climbed into the double digits, police were confronted with a terrifying reality: It wasn't just one suspect. There was a serial killer with twisted sexual fantasies, there were one-off robberies, and some still unsolved and motive unknown. The case of Bertha Hughes is one of them. The 82-year-old should have been given the opportunity to age and die with dignity. Instead someone violently ended her life. She was a woman who loved nothing more than to people-watch through her front window and visit with her family and friends from church. Even though over 40 years have gone by, new DNA testing could help police to close in on her killer.




Sources:

https://www.abc4.com/news/digital-exclusives/cold-cases-utah-cases-that-remain-unsolved-years-later/

https://bci.utah.gov/coldcases/jean-muir/#:~:text=Jean%20was%20planning%20on%20going,found%20inside%20her%20home%20murdered.

https://bci.utah.gov/coldcases/bertha-larsen-hughes/

https://www.abc4.com/news/top-stories/the-justice-files-a-decade-of-elderly-women-murders/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65518369/eliza-drucilla-ovard

https://www.deseret.com/1999/10/10/19469865/confessed-killer-adds-3-women-to-his-toll/

https://www.deseret.com/1999/8/9/19459771/did-one-time-burglar-slay-up-to-13-women-br-if-so-police-hope-convicted-killer-will-come-clean/

https://www.deseret.com/2000/1/3/19551749/victims-of-past-crimes-may-finally-see-justice/
https://www.deseret.com/1990/6/12/18866076/was-accidental-death-in-1985-a-murder-state-re-examines-body/

Many more from newspapers.com archives

https://www.instagram.com/simplertimecrimepod/?hl=en