- For decades, her tombstone read only “Unknown”
- Years ago, authorities obtained a DNA profile of Tucker and subsequently identified a woman in Maryland who was possibly related to her
A woman murdered in Massachusetts in 1978 has finally been identified thanks to advances in DNA technology, the BBC reported.
Patricia Ann Tucker, then 28, was known for decades only as the “Granby Girl,” after the small town where her body was found. For 45 years, the body remained unidentified.
Patricia’s body was found buried under leaves on a logging road in the town of Granby on November 15, 1978. The investigation concluded that she was killed around June 1978 and that she was between 19 and 27 years old. But her identity remains a mystery. For decades, her tombstone read only “Unknown,” he reported New TV.
But as science advances, thanks to DNA expertise, it is established who the unknown girl is. Years ago, authorities obtained a DNA profile of Tucker and subsequently identified a woman in Maryland who was possibly related to her. The same woman informed police that her aunt had gone missing in the 1970s, then gave police the names of her aunt’s two sons, Mr Gan said. One of them, Matthew Dale, confirmed that his mother, Patricia Tucker, had disappeared in 1978. Comparing his DNA to Tucker’s DNA resulted in a 100% parent-child match. Thus the true identity of the “Granby girl” is also revealed.
“Thank you for never giving up on her,” Dale said in a statement. “At least now I have some answers after 45 years,” he adds.
“Advances in forensic medicine, specifically forensic genetic genealogy, have provided a new source for identifying victims,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Gunn said at a news conference Monday. He announced that the investigation will not end until the perpetrator of the crime is also revealed.
Investigators determined that Patricia Tucker was married to Gerald Coleman at the time of her death, but he never reported his wife missing. In 1995, Coleman was convicted of charges including rape and assault, and died in prison in 1996.
The police expressed suspicions about Coleman’s guilt, but specified that they still had no evidence that he was the perpetrator of the crime.
