The Rawlins, Wyoming, "rodeo murders" occurred in July and August 1974, claiming four lives in the span of seven weeks. Unsolved despite intensive work by local law enforcement agencies, the crimes were similar enough in execution to deserve inclusion here, although three of the victims are still missing, precluding establishment of a homicidal "signature" in the slayings. The first two victims, Carlene Brown, of Rawlins, and her good friend Christy Gross, of Bowdle, South Dakota, disappeared on Independence Day, while visiting the Little Britches Rodeo in Rawlins. Officers had found no trace of the 19-year-olds by August 4, when Debra Meyers, 15, was added to the local missing list. On August 23, ten-year-old Jaylene Banker was separated from friends at the Rawlins fairgrounds, while watching the Carbon County rodeo, and she immediately disappeared. Nine years elapsed before the skeleton of Christy Gross was found, three miles north of Sinclair, Wyoming, on October 27, 1983. Killed by two blows to the skull, Gross was identified by means of dental charts and a ring found with her bones. Despite a lame attempt to link Ted Bundy with the case, no solid evidence exists connecting him -- or any other identifiable suspect -- with the homicides in Rawlins.
The Rawlins, Wyoming, "rodeo murders" occurred in July and August 1974, claiming four lives in the span of seven weeks. Unsolved despite intensive work by local law enforcement agencies, the crimes were similar enough in execution to deserve inclusion here, although three of the victims are still missing, precluding establishment of a homicidal "signature" in the slayings. The first two victims, Carlene Brown, of Rawlins, and her good friend Christy Gross, of Bowdle, South Dakota, disappeared on Independence Day, while visiting the Little Britches Rodeo in Rawlins. Officers had found no trace of the 19-year-olds by August 4, when Debra Meyers, 15, was added to the local missing list. On August 23, ten-year-old Jaylene Banker was separated from friends at the Rawlins fairgrounds, while watching the Carbon County rodeo, and she immediately disappeared. Nine years elapsed before the skeleton of Christy Gross was found, three miles north of Sinclair, Wyoming, on October 27, 1983. Killed by two blows to the skull, Gross was identified by means of dental charts and a ring found with her bones. Despite a lame attempt to link Ted Bundy with the case, no solid evidence exists connecting him -- or any other identifiable suspect -- with the homicides in Rawlins.
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