The 1970s in New York held promise for many families to get ahead and be successful. No one expected the tragedies that would befall Rochester between 1971 and 1973, or the mystery that would ensue.
On November 16th, 1971, 10-year-old Carmen Colón was running an errand for her grandmother. She was sent to the pharmacy on West Main Street in Rochester, New York in order to collect a prescription, as she had done so many times before. The pharmacist informed Carmen that the prescription wasn’t ready, to which Carmen told him: “I got to go. I got to go.” Leaving the pharmacy at around 4:20 that afternoon, Carmen was next seen entering a car parked near the pharmacy.
Roughly 50 minutes later, motorists witnessed a child running from a vehicle which was backing up along Interstate 490. The child was nude from the waist down.
Witnesses described the vehicle as dark in colour, possibly a Ford Pinto hatchback. The child was waving their arms, trying to wave down any passing vehicle for assistance. None stopped for her.
Another witness stated that they saw the child being led back to the vehicle. This witness later identified the child as Carmen Colón.
The Rochester Police Department was alerted to Carmen’s disappearance at 7:50 PM, on November 16th, 1971, when she failed to return home to her grandmother.
On November 18th, 1971, two teenage boys found a partially nude body, not far from Interstate 490, near the town of Churchville. The body was positively identified as Carmen Colón.
Her coat was discovered nearly 300 feet from her body in a culvert, while her pants weren’t discovered until November 30th, near a road where many motorists had seen Carmen struggling with her abductor.
An autopsy was performed on Carmen, which revealed that she had been sexually assaulted, and suffered various fractures to her skull and vertebrae before she was strangled. Manual strangulation was listed as the official cause of death. The autopsy also revealed that Carmen’s body displayed extensive fingernail scratches.
The community of Rochester was absolutely outraged. The outrage was not only in relation to Carmen’s murder, but of the apparent apathy that motorists showed the struggling child as they witnessed her being abducted and/or attacked. However, motorists were travelling down Interstate 490 at a high rate of speed. It would have been difficult for them to do anything, or even fully acknowledge what they’d seen.
The Times Union and Democrat and Chronicle newspapers chipped in to offer a $2,500 reward for any information in regards to Carmen’s abduction and murder. Many local businesses and private residents also chipped in, upping the reward to over $6,000.
Several suspects were interrogated in connection with Carmen’s murder, to no avail. By December of 1971, police involvement in the case dwindled as it went cold.
In an effort to garner more information from the public, police put up five large billboards in early 1972. Each billboard was roughly 30-feet-by-12-feet. They were put up along major Rochester roadways and expressways. The billboards displayed an 8-foot-hight photo of Carmen, as well as the headline: “Do You Know Who Killed Carmen Colón?” The billboards offered a $6,000 reward for information which would lead to the conviction of the person, or persons, involved in Carmen’s murder. To report tips, the billboards also announced a hotline number the community could call.
The billboards spurred several new leads. None of them came to fruition.
On April 2nd, 1973, Wanda Walkowicz was sent on an errand for her mother. The 11-year-old had often been trusted with going to the delicatessen for her mother in order to purchase groceries, and this time was no different. At around 5:15, the owner of the delicatessen rang Wanda up, and watched her leave his store, presumably heading back home.
At 8:00 PM, when Wanda failed to return home, her mother reported her missing to Rochester police.
Approximately fifty detectives launched into an extensive search. The investigation into Carmen’s murder was still fresh in their minds, and they did not want a repeat.
While the search effort divulged nothing, many witnesses came forward with similar stories. Witnesses stated that they saw Wanda walking, struggling to keep a grip on her grocery bags.
Three of Wanda’s classmates specifically remembered seeing Wanda struggle, and brace herself against a fence in order to improve her hold on the bags. As she was doing this, the classmates also saw a brown vehicle drive by. The classmates kept walking, and when they turned back to look again a couple of blocks later, Wanda was gone.
On April 3rd, 1973, Wanda’s body was found in the town of Webster, roughly seven miles from Rochester. She was found fully clothed, in a position that indicated she may have been thrown from a moving vehicle, as he body rolled down an embankment, landing at the base of a hillside along an access road to State Route 104.
Wanda’s autopsy showed that she had been sexually assaulted, re-clothed, and then strangled with a ligature from behind, possible a belt. Wanda’s body also showed several defensive wounds, indicating that she had tried desperately to fight off her attacker.
During the autopsy, many pieces of evidence were collected. This included semen collected from her body, as well as multiple samples of white cat fur. It was known that Wanda’s family had a cat, but it wasn’t white.
In order to bring all the leads they could, investigators set up an anonymous hotline, and distributed flyers around the Rochester community, hoping for information. The flyers announced a $10,000 reward for information that would lead to the conviction of Wanda’s murderer.
A witness came forward, and informed investigators that they had seen Wanda leaving the delicatessen on April 2nd. They went on to state that they had seen Wanda standing beside the passenger door of a large, brown vehicle, as if she was speaking with the driver of the vehicle. Another witness, using the anonymous hotline, stated that they had seen a man forcing Wanda into a light-coloured Dodge Dart between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM on April 2nd.
Law enforcement dismissed any suggestions that Carmen’s murder could be linked to Wanda’s. To them, there were too many differences, despite the striking similarities between the two cases.
WOKR, a Rochester television network, announced in September of 1973 that it planned on reconstructing Wanda’s abduction, as well as the discovery of her body. They were hoping this would spur more information from the public, which could lead to solving the case. The episode was 30 minutes long, and broadcast on October 21st, 1973. The programme resulted in over 200 calls to the Rochester Police Department. None of these calls produced useful leads.
On November 26th, 1973, Michelle Maenza left school at around 3:20 PM. She was headed towards the shopping plaza near her school in order to run an errand for her mother. Ten minutes later, a witness saw Michelle sitting in the passanger seat of a tan, or beige, vehicle. Michelle appeared to be sobbing as the car sped off down the street.
Around 5:30 PM, a motorist saw a man standing near a large vehicle, either beige or tan in colour. The vehicle appeared to have a flat tire. The man was holding Michelle firmly by the wrist. The motorist pulled over in order to offer assistance. As they did so, the man deliberately put himself between the motorist and Michelle, forcing her behind his back. This also caused the vehicle’s license plate to be obscured from view. The man sneered at the motorist, who, despite knowing something was wrong with the situation, felt unsafe and drove away.
When Michelle failed to return home that evening, her mother reported her missing to Rochester police.
On November 28th, 1973, Michelle’s body was found alongside a rural road in the town of Macedon, roughly 15 miles from Rochester. Michelle was found face-down in a ditch, fully clothed. The autopsy revealed that she’d been sexually assaulted, strangled with a ligature from behind, and had suffered extensive blunt force trauma.
The autopsy also uncovered several strands of white cat hair, similar to those found on Wanda’s body. A partial palm print was lifted from her neck, and traces of semen were found on her body, as well as on her underwear.
An analysis of Michelle’s stomach contents was also conducted, revealing that she had traces of hamburger and onions in her stomach at the time of her death. It was theorized that she’d eaten the food roughly an hour before she was murdered.
A witness corroborated this theory, stating that they had seen Michelle eating with a Caucasian man at a fast food restaurant the day she’d gone missing in the town of Penfield. The man was described as having dark hair, looked to be between 25 and 35 years of age, roughly six feet tall (1.83 meters), and weighing approximately 165 pounds (75 kilos). The witness saw them at approximately 4:30 PM.
A telephone hotline was installed following Michelle’s murder, which was devoted solely for receiving tips involving the murders of all three girls – Carmen, Wanda, and Michelle. The hotline was offered anonymously. Police also released a composite drawing of the man witnesses had seen with all three children. The efforts garnered many calls, but no leads led to a credible suspect, despite over 800 individuals being interviewed and interrogated.
Law enforcement also couldn’t help but draw similarities between all three young girls. The girls appeared to have few friends, had experienced bullying at school, came from low-income, Catholic, families, and were not strong academically. One theory investigators seemed to favour was that the perpetrator could have have been associated with the school system, or the church, or even social services. If so, this insinuated that the perpetrator may have known the girls personally in some capacity. The perpetrator, then, could have earned their trust, making them easier to abduct.
Investigators, while exploring that theory, also theorized that the girls could have been chosen due to the double initials in their name. The press had latched onto this theory themselves, and dubbed the murders The Alphabet Murders, or The Double Initial Murders – depending on who you ask.
Investigators didn’t, and still don’t, favour this theory. They theorize that for the perpetrator to have selected the girls for this reason, he would have needed extensive knowledge of the girls, their families, and their routines, indicating that the perpetrator would have either known all three girls personally, or stalked them intensely.
Investigators were, and still are, hesitant to tie Carmen’s murder to the murders of Wanda and Michelle.
Investigators believe that Carmen was murdered by someone who knew her personally, who may have been related to her. On the other hand, they believe that, in the most likely scenario, Wanda and Michelle were lured to their deaths by a stranger – even while considering the theory that the perpetrator could have been known to them through school, or the church. Regardless, the stark differences between Carmen’s murder, and the murders of Wanda and Michelle, were too vast to dismiss.
A profile of the potential murderer – or murderers – was drafted by Robert Ressler, the man who was known for coining the term ‘serial killer’. Ressler believed that Carmen had not been killed by the same person who killed Wanda and Michelle. He believed that Carmen’s killer had displayed a high level of anger, as the attack seemed very personal.
Where Wanda and Michelle had been found clothed, Carmen had been found partially nude. Another difference was that Carmen had been manually strangled, while Wanda and Michelle had been strangled with a ligature, from behind. Ressler firmly believed that Carmen had been killed by someone she knew.
On the other hand, Ressler believed that Wanda and Michelle’s killer had shown average intelligence, and may have been previously arrested for ‘lesser sexual offences’. He also believed that the perpetrator was not an organized killer. Ressler dismissed the notion that Wanda and Michelle had been chosen for the initials of their names, believing it was mere coincidence.
With Ressler’s profiles in mind, law enforcement looked heavily into the possibility that Carmen’s killer could have been a family member. To that end, they honed in on her uncle, Miguel Colón, who had formed a relationship with Carmen’s mother following her parents’ separation. Carmen knew him fondly as ‘Uncle Miguel’.
Prior to Carmen’s disappearance and murder, Miguel had purchased a vehicle that resembled the one motorists had seen reversing on Interstate 490. The vehicle was searched following Carmen’s murder, but little could be garnered from the vehicle, as it had been extensively cleaned inside and out. When police checked up with the dealership where Miguel purchased the vehicle, they informed investigators that a deep cleaning of that nature was not standard practice in the selling of a vehicle.
However, a doll belonging to Carmen was found in the vehicle. Carmen’s relatives informed police that this wasn’t unusual – Carmen often travelled with her uncle in the car, and would bring a doll with her. She often left her dolls with friends and relatives with whom she was familiar. They figured Carmen had left the doll in his vehicle, and intended on picking it up the next time she saw her uncle.
Despite this, investigators were certain that Miguel Colón was involved. They’d heard from a friend of his that Miguel was leaving Rochester. Miguel told the friend that he had ‘done something wrong’, and needed to leave. Four days after Carmen’s murder, Miguel relocated to Puerto Rico.
In March of 1972, police travelled to San Juan in order to question Miguel as to his involvement in Carmen’s murder. Local newspapers got wind of what was about to transpire, and reported it to the community. Having read this, Miguel fled. On March 26nd, 1972, he surrendered to authorities, and agreed to be extradited to Rochester in order to be questioned.
Miguel Colón was unable to provide a believable alibi for the time of Carmen’s murder. No one could corroborate his own accounts of his whereabouts on the day Carmen disappeared. While the circumstantial evidence of Miguel’s guilt mounted, not a shred of physical evidence ever linked him to Carmen’s murder.
Miguel Colón committed suicide in 1991. At no point have Carmen’s family ever believe he was involved in her murder.
Police also looked closely at Dennis Termini as a possible perpetrator for the murders. Termini was a Rochester firefighter in his 20s at the time. Between 1971 and 1973, he’d become known as the “Garage Rapist”. Termini had committed, at minimum, 14 sexual assaults against young girls and women. At the time, he also drove a beige-coloured vehicle, which matched the description many witnesses gave police as being involved in the abduction of the three girls.
On January 1st, 1974, Termini attempted to abduct a teenage girl at gunpoint. She began screaming loudly, and Termini fled the scene before he could be apprehended. Pursued by police, Termini attempted to abduct someone else, but failed. In order to evade capture, Termini committed suicide.
A forensic examination of his vehicle found traces of white cat fur on the upholstery.
In January of 2007, Termini’s body was exhumed in order to obtain a DNA sample. The sample was compared to the semen samples that had been taken from Wanda’s body. Testing confirmed that Termini was not responsible to Wanda’s murder. The evidence that had been collected from Carmen and Michelle’s murders were not comparable to Termini’s DNA.
Another suspect that Rochester authorities considered was Kenneth Bianchi, later known as the Hillside Strangler.
At the time of the murders, Bianchi worked as an ice cream vendor in Rochester, and was known to frequent the areas where the girls went missing, as well as where they lived. He also drove a vehicle that matched the vehicle seen at the time of the abudctions.
In January 1976, he relocated to Los Angeles, California. There, he and his cousin, Angelo Buono Jr murdered 10 girls and women between the ages of 12 and 28.
Bianchi has vehemently denied any involvement with the murders of Carmen, Wanda, and Michelle. He has sought to have his name cleared of these murders.
In April of 2011, Joseph Naso was arrested in Reno, Nevada. He’d been suspected of having committed four murders in California between 1977 and 1994. The women’s surnames began with the same letter as their first names. Naso had lived in Rochester at the time of the murders, and was known to travel frequently between New York and California.
When a sample of Naso’s DNA was tested against the sample found on Wanda’s body, it was found that Naso was not the individual who had committed her murder.
A few other suspects have come to the attention of investigators, to no avail.
Rochester State Police ask that if you have any information in regards to the murders of Carmen Colón, Wanda Walkowicz, or Michelle Maenza, please contact them by phone at 585-398-4100, or by email at crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.
— — —
Like what you’re reading? Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for all the latest updates!
Sources:
Unsolved Mysteries: The Alphabet Murders – Michael East – Medium
Will the Double Initial Murders of Upstate New York Ever Be Solved – Robert Kahn – A&E
The Case of the Alphabet Murders and the Double Initial Killer – Adam Bradley – Unsolved Casebook
Criminal Discourse Podcast – The Alphabet Murders
True Crime Garage podcast – Episode 12 – The Alphabet Murders
Alphabet Murders Wikipedia page
[…] The Double Initial Murders — Catt’s True Crime Corner […]