September 4, 2024 • 19 mins
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Could the reexamination of a notorious 1970 cold case finally bring justice to two West Virginia University freshmen who vanished under eerie circumstances? Join us as we navigate the haunting mystery of Karen Farrell and Marad Malarick's disappearance and the subsequent discovery of their headless bodies months later. From their last fateful night of hitchhiking to the cryptic anonymous letter that led investigators to their remains, this episode revisits every chilling detail that has left the community grappling for answers for over five decades.
In an episode, we delve into the convoluted investigation, including the false leads from the Psychic Science Church hoax and the puzzling confession and recantation by Eugene Paul Clausen. We'll also explore the reopening of the case in 2006, which brought fresh scrutiny to suspects like William Bernard Hacker Sr., Eddie Slaughter, Ronnie Bird, and John Brennan Crutchley. Tune in to the End of Reason podcast as we endeavor to piece together the fragments of this grim puzzle and spotlight the relentless pursuit of justice that continues to shadow the community.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Before we begin today's episode, we want to
provide a subject matter warning.
This podcast delves intoreal-life crimes and their often
graphic and disturbing details.
Today's episode containsdiscussions of violence, murder
and other sensitive topics thatmay not be suitable for all
listeners.
We understand that this contentcan be triggering or upsetting
(00:22):
for some, and we urge you toconsider your own well-being as
you listen.
With that said, let's proceedwith today's case.
In the heart of a cold WestVirginian winter in 1970, two
(01:07):
fearless and adventurous youngwomen, karen Farrell and Marad
Malarick, embarked on aninnocent outing that would
eventually plunge them into achilling mystery when, on
January 18th, their ordinaryroutine took an ominous turn.
They vanished into the night,never to be seen alive again.
Initially dismissed as runawaysby local authorities, their
(01:29):
case took a disturbing turn when, several months after their
disappearance, their headlessand decomposing bodies were
found in makeshift graves in awooded area.
What ensued was a frantic huntfor the killer, but as years and
decades have passed, theirbrutal murders are still
(01:51):
shrouded in mystery and morequestions.
Welcome to the End of Reasonpodcast.
In 1970, west Virginia, likemuch of the United States, was
undergoing significant socialand cultural changes.
While the state was known forits natural beauty, tight-knit
communities and a sense ofrugged independence, it was not
immune to the challenges andissues facing the nation.
(02:13):
During that time, violentcrimes in West Virginia, while
not as prevalent as in largerurban areas, were still a
concern.
The state had its share ofcriminal activities, including
homicides, but the overall crimerate was lower than in more
densely populated regions.
Law enforcement agencies, oftenwith limited resources, faced
(02:37):
the daunting task ofinvestigating and solving crimes
, including violent ones.
The 1970s marked a time ofincreasing awareness and concern
about violent crimes, thanks inpart to the rise of media
coverage and the emergence oftrue crime stories in pop
culture.
This was the era of crimedramas and documentaries that
(02:58):
captured the public'simagination.
But for the small community ofMorgantown, west Virginia, those
crime dramas would soon becomea nightmarish reality.
Marid Malaric hailed from aprivileged background.
Her father, edward Malaric, aprosperous dentist, provided her
family with a comfortable,upper-middle-class lifestyle.
(03:19):
Marid had the advantage of atop-notch education, a wide
circle of friends and theopportunity to explore various
parts of the world.
In contrast, karen Farrell grewup in a modest and deeply
religious household.
Despite the differences intheir backgrounds, both young
women shared common traits ofbeauty, intelligence and
(03:42):
ambition.
These qualities served as aunifying thread in their
friendship.
Their paths converged duringtheir first semester at West
Virginia University, when theyfound themselves living on the
same floor in Westchester Hall.
While Karen leaned towards amore reserved and shy demeanor,
marid was recognized for heroutgoing and vivacious nature.
(04:03):
It was the unique blend oftheir personalities and
characteristics that formed thefoundation of their close and
enduring friendship.
On the evening of January 18th1970, marid and Karen, both
still freshmen at West VirginiaUniversity, went out.
They had gone to see a showingof the musical Oliver in
(04:26):
downtown Morgantown.
As the night fell and thewinter cold settled in, the two
young women decided to hitchhiketheir way back to their
dormitory in Evansdale, whichwas less than two miles away
from the main campus.
Hitchhiking was not uncommon atthe time, and for university
students on campus who weren'tallowed vehicles of their own,
(04:47):
they would often have to rely onhitchhiking to get from place
to place.
Maud and Karen had managed toreach their destination safely
on previous occasions.
However, on this fateful night,the decision to hitchhike would
have dire consequences.
They were last seen by two oftheir friends, clarence Lewis
(05:07):
and Paulette Burns, who ran intothem during the movie.
They would later report,observing Marad and Karen
getting into a light-colouredsedan which had stopped to pick
them up.
The driver was described as aman in his early forties.
The very next day, just hoursafter they were last seen, the
alarming realisation that Maridand Karen had not returned to
(05:28):
their dormitory prompted amissing persons report to be
filed with local authorities.
Initially, the assumption wasthat the young women had chosen
to leave of their own accord, acommon interpretation of such
cases during that era.
However, friends and familywere adamant that both girls
were not the kind to vanishwithout a word.
(05:48):
Months passed with nosubstantial leads or
developments in the case.
Then, in a chilling turn ofevents, a 13-year-old boy was
picking up soda bottles along US119 in March when he discovered
Mared Malarik's purse in apatch of weeds about 50 feet off
the road.
A few weeks later, another boystumbled upon Karen Farrell's
(06:13):
driver's license in a remotearea just south of Morgantown.
These findings were significant, suggesting that the girls may
have been in the vicinity ofwhere these items were
discovered.
With the discovery of Marid'spurse and Karen's driver's
license, the runaway theorybegan to unravel.
A prescription pill bottlebearing Karen's name was later
(06:37):
found on the same dirt roadwhere her license had been
located, further raisingsuspicions and fueling the
ongoing investigation.
The accumulation of thesedistressing pieces of evidence
indicated a much grimmer truth.
Maud and Karen had likely metwith foul play, but the case was
(06:57):
far from over and the followingmonth, on April 8th 1970, an
anonymous letter postmarked fromCumberland, maryland, arrived
at the West Virginia StatePolice Department.
The letter was signed withnothing but a triangle, the
water stated the Fatherland.
Gentlemen, I have someinformation on the whereabouts
of the bodies of the two missingWest Virginia University co-eds
(07:20):
, merred Malarick and KarenFerrell.
Follow directions verycarefully, to the nth degree,
and you cannot fail to find them.
Proceed 25 miles directly southfrom the southern line of
Morgantown.
This will bring you to a woodedforest land.
Enter into the forest exactlyone mile.
There are the bodies, 25 plus 1, 26 miles total.
(07:44):
Will reveal myself when thebodies are located.
Sincerely, the letter waspublished in the newspapers and
only several days later anotherletter postmarked from
Cumberland arrived readingGentlemen, I saw the article in
this morning's newspaperconcerning my previous letter on
the missing two coeds.
If you re-read my first lettercarefully, you will see the
(08:08):
directions were specific directsouth from the city, meaning the
southern limit of Morgantown,west Virginia, straight south
twenty-five miles, you will cometo a forest woodland.
Enter in one mile south,fanning out, you will locate the
bodies of the girls coveredover with brush.
Look carefully, the animals arenow on the move.
(08:29):
Do trust this will help you outwith exact location.
Will still identify myself whenbodies are located.
Sincerely, as the letterscontaining these cryptic
instructions arrived, mountingpublic pressure demanded a more
serious approach to Karen andMarid's disappearance.
The governor of West Virginia,responding to this growing
(08:52):
concern, ordered a search forthe missing girls.
Based on the guidance providedin the letters, the West
Virginia State Police and theNational Guard initiated the
search, doing their best tofollow the instructions, though
the directions proved to bevague and challenging, making it
unclear where precisely theyshould begin the search.
(09:12):
Nonetheless, the search didyield some clues and personal
items belonging to the missinggirls.
The items were scattered withina 25-mile radius of where the
girls would ultimately bediscovered.
On April 16th 1970, a grimdiscovery shattered the mystery
surrounding the disappearance ofMarid Malarik and Karen Ferrell
(09:35):
.
It had been 88 agonising dayssince they vanished when members
of the National Guard stumbledupon their makeshift graves.
Their bodies were found neatlyclothed and, remarkably, there
were no signs of sexual assault.
A pack of cigarettes with twocigarettes still intact was
carefully tucked into thewaistband of Merid's pants.
(09:56):
The clothing they wore matchedthe clothes they reportedly had
on the day they disappeared.
But the most stark andunsettling detail was that the
two young coeds were decapitated.
Their remains were stacked oneon top of the other, with
Karen's body atop Marid's.
Investigators theorised that ahatchet might have been used to
(10:17):
sever their heads, a notionsupported by the nicks and
ragged ends on Karen's sweater.
Nicks and ragged ends onKaren's sweater.
The revelation of this gruesomecrime scene reignited the
urgency to locate the killer,thrusting the investigation into
the spotlight.
The bodies were swiftlytransported to West Virginia
(10:37):
University Hospital for autopsy,revealing more disturbing
details.
Most of Karen Ferrell's remainswere missing, likely consumed
by animals, while Marad's bodywas in better preservation, her
head had been completely severed, while more of Karen's neck
remained on her body.
There were numerous extensivesearches of the area where the
(10:57):
bodies were found, and yet notraces of their heads have ever
been found.
After the bodies were found, twomore anonymous letters were
sent On April 21st.
One letter was sent to thepolice and read the heads can be
found from the position of thebodies.
By striking out 10°SW for thefirst head and approximately
(11:20):
10°SE for the second roughly onemile, you are already seven
tenths of that mile.
They are within the mineentrance, if you can call it an
entrance, considering itscondition.
They are buried not over onefoot in depth.
The ones responsible for themurders scattered some of the
girls' personal effects over thegeneral area, creating a
(11:40):
pattern of confusion making itdifficult for you to pinpoint
any exact location.
My first two letters triggeredyour intensive search.
Don't give up now.
Sincerely, the last and finalletter was sent to Marid's
parents, I have sent threeletters to the Morgantown State
Police Department concerningyour daughter, marid and Karen.
(12:03):
Concerning your daughter, maridand Karen, the first and second
were taken with someseriousness and instituted a
search which was successful inlocating two bodies, minus the
heads, which were needed forother purposes.
All of a sudden, the policehave been complaining about an
error in the mileage stated inmy second letter.
After one has driven in an ovalpattern for 26 miles, under the
(12:27):
weather condition of Jan andunder the involved circumstances
, it is possible to make aboutan 18-mile error in the precise
location of the bodies.
Nevertheless, they were foundsouth of Morgantown, as stated
in the letter, even to thatwhich was called a logging lane
or old mine road.
In my opinion, both the sameInvestigators had good reason to
(12:52):
suspect that the person writingthe letters was a likely
suspect in the murders.
But one law enforcement officerlater used handwriting analysis
to trace back the letters tomembers of the Psychic Science
Church, a small religious cult.
In the end, it was believedthat the letters were nothing
more than a hoax orchestrated bythis cult.
(13:14):
The individuals responsible forwriting them were absolved of
any connection to the murders.
If the letters were a hoax,they became a detriment to the
case because law enforcement hadplayed such significant focus
on them and ruled out potentialsuspects in the process.
Despite the harrowingdiscoveries of the bodies, the
(13:35):
quest to identify the assailantof the murdered coeds went cold,
leaving the community hauntedby the unsolved case.
It would be six years before anew lead emerged through the
confession of a New Jerseyprisoner named Eugene Paul
Clausen.
Clausen, tormented by traumaticnightmares involving the
(13:56):
headless co-eds, confessed firstto a cellmate, then to a prison
guard and ultimately to theWest Virginia State Police
prison guard and ultimately tothe West Virginia State Police.
Clausen was born in Morgantown,west Virginia, and for much of
his life he had lived in thenearby town of Point Marion.
He had a history of priorsexual offences, particularly
against children, and at thetime of his confession he was
(14:18):
serving a prison sentence forthe sexual assault of a
14-year-old girl.
According to him, he hadvisited his mother in Point
Marion, pennsylvania, andborrowed a car where he drove
nine miles to Morgantown to pickup Marid and Karen.
Claiming to be under theinfluence of LSD and marijuana,
he took the girls to a secludedwooded area outside of
(14:39):
Morgantown.
There he forced them toparticipate in sex acts before
shooting one of them in the head.
He returned to the car,retrieved a machete and
proceeded to decapitate one ofthe girls.
He then repeated the samehorrifying act on the other and
hid their bodies in the woodswhere he covered them with logs
and rocks.
Clausen even claimed to havehad sex with the severed heads
(15:01):
before he disposed of the headsand the murder weapon had sex
with the severed heads before hedisposed of the heads and the
murder weapon.
Clausen's trial was scheduledfor October 1976 in West
Virginia and, to everyone'ssurprise, he entered a plea of
not guilty and recanted hisprevious confessions.
Despite his insistence on hisinnocence, clausen was found
guilty and sentenced to lifeimprisonment without the
(15:23):
possibility of parole.
However, the case took anothertwist when Clausen appealed the
ruling and was granted anothertrial, which occurred on October
26th 1981.
This time, the trial took placein Randolph County, a move
aimed at reducing potentialbiases from Monongalia County
locals reducing potential biasesfrom Monongalia County locals.
(15:45):
He was convicted again for thecrime.
Clausen staunchly maintainedhis innocence in the murder case
until his passing in prison in2009.
Many individuals involved withthe case have now shifted their
perspective, strongly leaningtoward the belief that he was
not the perpetrator of thesespecific crimes.
Leaning toward the belief thathe was not the perpetrator of
(16:08):
these specific crimes.
While the consensus was that heposed a substantial threat to
society and deserved a lifetimebehind bars for his crimes
against children, there was nophysical evidence ever linking
him to the crime.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
In 2006, the investigation into Marid and
Karen's murders was reopened bythe West Virginia State Police
and yet, over 50 years later,much of the case remains
shrouded in mystery, unsolved.
Throughout the years, facedwith the prospect that the true
killer was never brought tojustice, many have come up with
(16:39):
their own theories about who mayhave been responsible, and the
search for the killer has ledinvestigators and the public
down various paths, examiningmultiple suspects.
One of these suspects wasWilliam Bernard Hacker Sr, who
was arrested in December 1970for the murder and decapitation
of Herbert Coburn in Baltimore.
Hacker's history raisedsuspicions as there had been a
(17:02):
series of unsolved decapitationsbetween 1921 and 1952 in areas
near his residence.
However, after committing adouble murder in 1952 and
subsequent imprisonment, thedecapitations ceased until the
Coed murder in 1970.
Another individual of interestwas Eddie Slaughter, a janitor
(17:23):
at Westchester Hall, thedormitory where Marad and Karen
lived.
His involvement came to lightwhen a woman reported a
disturbing encounter with him.
She described feelinguncomfortable, particularly when
Slaughter became fixated on herfur coat and hat.
His sick leave on the nights.
The girls went missing added tosuspicions.
Handwriting analysis wasconducted, but it indicated that
(17:47):
he was unlikely to be theauthor of the triangle letters
initially believed to be fromthe killer.
Consequently, slaughter wasruled out as a suspect In the
case's reopening in 2006,investigators looked into Ronnie
Bird, who was linked todisturbing activities like
animal torture and setting fires.
(18:07):
It was noted that Bird had aphoto of Eddie Slaughter on his
wall.
This connection raisedsuspicions due to Slaughter's
previous association with thecase.
Lastly, john Brennan Crutchley,known as the Vampire Rapist,
was proposed as a potentialsuspect by Geoffrey Cameron
Fuller, a co-author of a bookabout the murders.
(18:28):
Crutchley's name emerged due tocircumstantial factors, such as
his sister attending WestVirginia University in 1970 and
his father's connection to theland where the bodies were found
.
Yet there is no concreteevidence placing Crutchley in or
near Morgantown in 1970, and,apart from his status as a
(18:49):
serial killer with ties to thearea, there is no substantial
proof linking him to the murdersof Marad and Karen.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
The case remains unsolved, with no conclusive
evidence tying any of thesesuspects to the gruesome murders
, leaving the mystery unresolved.
After more than five decades,as investigators continue their
relentless pursuit of the truth,the shadow of this haunting
(19:24):
mystery still looms over WestVirginia.
Thank you for joining us onthis journey through the shadows
of humanity.
On the End of Reason podcast.
As we conclude today's episode,remember that the pursuit of
truth never truly ends.
Until next time, stay vigilant,stay curious and never let go
of reason.
Before we begin today's episode, we want to
provide a subject matter warning.
This podcast delves intoreal-life crimes and their often
graphic and disturbing details.
Today's episode containsdiscussions of violence, murder
and other sensitive topics thatmay not be suitable for all
listeners.
We understand that this contentcan be triggering or upsetting
(00:22):
for some, and we urge you toconsider your own well-being as
you listen.
With that said, let's proceedwith today's case.
In the heart of a cold WestVirginian winter in 1970, two
(01:07):
fearless and adventurous youngwomen, karen Farrell and Marad
Malarick, embarked on aninnocent outing that would
eventually plunge them into achilling mystery when, on
January 18th, their ordinaryroutine took an ominous turn.
They vanished into the night,never to be seen alive again.
Initially dismissed as runawaysby local authorities, their
(01:29):
case took a disturbing turn when, several months after their
disappearance, their headlessand decomposing bodies were
found in makeshift graves in awooded area.
What ensued was a frantic huntfor the killer, but as years and
decades have passed, theirbrutal murders are still
(01:51):
shrouded in mystery and morequestions.
Welcome to the End of Reasonpodcast.
In 1970, west Virginia, likemuch of the United States, was
undergoing significant socialand cultural changes.
While the state was known forits natural beauty, tight-knit
communities and a sense ofrugged independence, it was not
immune to the challenges andissues facing the nation.
(02:13):
During that time, violentcrimes in West Virginia, while
not as prevalent as in largerurban areas, were still a
concern.
The state had its share ofcriminal activities, including
homicides, but the overall crimerate was lower than in more
densely populated regions.
Law enforcement agencies, oftenwith limited resources, faced
(02:37):
the daunting task ofinvestigating and solving crimes
, including violent ones.
The 1970s marked a time ofincreasing awareness and concern
about violent crimes, thanks inpart to the rise of media
coverage and the emergence oftrue crime stories in pop
culture.
This was the era of crimedramas and documentaries that
(02:58):
captured the public'simagination.
But for the small community ofMorgantown, west Virginia, those
crime dramas would soon becomea nightmarish reality.
Marid Malaric hailed from aprivileged background.
Her father, edward Malaric, aprosperous dentist, provided her
family with a comfortable,upper-middle-class lifestyle.
(03:19):
Marid had the advantage of atop-notch education, a wide
circle of friends and theopportunity to explore various
parts of the world.
In contrast, karen Farrell grewup in a modest and deeply
religious household.
Despite the differences intheir backgrounds, both young
women shared common traits ofbeauty, intelligence and
(03:42):
ambition.
These qualities served as aunifying thread in their
friendship.
Their paths converged duringtheir first semester at West
Virginia University, when theyfound themselves living on the
same floor in Westchester Hall.
While Karen leaned towards amore reserved and shy demeanor,
marid was recognized for heroutgoing and vivacious nature.
(04:03):
It was the unique blend oftheir personalities and
characteristics that formed thefoundation of their close and
enduring friendship.
On the evening of January 18th1970, marid and Karen, both
still freshmen at West VirginiaUniversity, went out.
They had gone to see a showingof the musical Oliver in
(04:26):
downtown Morgantown.
As the night fell and thewinter cold settled in, the two
young women decided to hitchhiketheir way back to their
dormitory in Evansdale, whichwas less than two miles away
from the main campus.
Hitchhiking was not uncommon atthe time, and for university
students on campus who weren'tallowed vehicles of their own,
(04:47):
they would often have to rely onhitchhiking to get from place
to place.
Maud and Karen had managed toreach their destination safely
on previous occasions.
However, on this fateful night,the decision to hitchhike would
have dire consequences.
They were last seen by two oftheir friends, clarence Lewis
(05:07):
and Paulette Burns, who ran intothem during the movie.
They would later report,observing Marad and Karen
getting into a light-colouredsedan which had stopped to pick
them up.
The driver was described as aman in his early forties.
The very next day, just hoursafter they were last seen, the
alarming realisation that Maridand Karen had not returned to
(05:28):
their dormitory prompted amissing persons report to be
filed with local authorities.
Initially, the assumption wasthat the young women had chosen
to leave of their own accord, acommon interpretation of such
cases during that era.
However, friends and familywere adamant that both girls
were not the kind to vanishwithout a word.
(05:48):
Months passed with nosubstantial leads or
developments in the case.
Then, in a chilling turn ofevents, a 13-year-old boy was
picking up soda bottles along US119 in March when he discovered
Mared Malarik's purse in apatch of weeds about 50 feet off
the road.
A few weeks later, another boystumbled upon Karen Farrell's
(06:13):
driver's license in a remotearea just south of Morgantown.
These findings were significant, suggesting that the girls may
have been in the vicinity ofwhere these items were
discovered.
With the discovery of Marid'spurse and Karen's driver's
license, the runaway theorybegan to unravel.
A prescription pill bottlebearing Karen's name was later
(06:37):
found on the same dirt roadwhere her license had been
located, further raisingsuspicions and fueling the
ongoing investigation.
The accumulation of thesedistressing pieces of evidence
indicated a much grimmer truth.
Maud and Karen had likely metwith foul play, but the case was
(06:57):
far from over and the followingmonth, on April 8th 1970, an
anonymous letter postmarked fromCumberland, maryland, arrived
at the West Virginia StatePolice Department.
The letter was signed withnothing but a triangle, the
water stated the Fatherland.
Gentlemen, I have someinformation on the whereabouts
of the bodies of the two missingWest Virginia University co-eds
(07:20):
, merred Malarick and KarenFerrell.
Follow directions verycarefully, to the nth degree,
and you cannot fail to find them.
Proceed 25 miles directly southfrom the southern line of
Morgantown.
This will bring you to a woodedforest land.
Enter into the forest exactlyone mile.
There are the bodies, 25 plus 1, 26 miles total.
(07:44):
Will reveal myself when thebodies are located.
Sincerely, the letter waspublished in the newspapers and
only several days later anotherletter postmarked from
Cumberland arrived readingGentlemen, I saw the article in
this morning's newspaperconcerning my previous letter on
the missing two coeds.
If you re-read my first lettercarefully, you will see the
(08:08):
directions were specific directsouth from the city, meaning the
southern limit of Morgantown,west Virginia, straight south
twenty-five miles, you will cometo a forest woodland.
Enter in one mile south,fanning out, you will locate the
bodies of the girls coveredover with brush.
Look carefully, the animals arenow on the move.
(08:29):
Do trust this will help you outwith exact location.
Will still identify myself whenbodies are located.
Sincerely, as the letterscontaining these cryptic
instructions arrived, mountingpublic pressure demanded a more
serious approach to Karen andMarid's disappearance.
The governor of West Virginia,responding to this growing
(08:52):
concern, ordered a search forthe missing girls.
Based on the guidance providedin the letters, the West
Virginia State Police and theNational Guard initiated the
search, doing their best tofollow the instructions, though
the directions proved to bevague and challenging, making it
unclear where precisely theyshould begin the search.
(09:12):
Nonetheless, the search didyield some clues and personal
items belonging to the missinggirls.
The items were scattered withina 25-mile radius of where the
girls would ultimately bediscovered.
On April 16th 1970, a grimdiscovery shattered the mystery
surrounding the disappearance ofMarid Malarik and Karen Ferrell
(09:35):
.
It had been 88 agonising dayssince they vanished when members
of the National Guard stumbledupon their makeshift graves.
Their bodies were found neatlyclothed and, remarkably, there
were no signs of sexual assault.
A pack of cigarettes with twocigarettes still intact was
carefully tucked into thewaistband of Merid's pants.
(09:56):
The clothing they wore matchedthe clothes they reportedly had
on the day they disappeared.
But the most stark andunsettling detail was that the
two young coeds were decapitated.
Their remains were stacked oneon top of the other, with
Karen's body atop Marid's.
Investigators theorised that ahatchet might have been used to
(10:17):
sever their heads, a notionsupported by the nicks and
ragged ends on Karen's sweater.
Nicks and ragged ends onKaren's sweater.
The revelation of this gruesomecrime scene reignited the
urgency to locate the killer,thrusting the investigation into
the spotlight.
The bodies were swiftlytransported to West Virginia
(10:37):
University Hospital for autopsy,revealing more disturbing
details.
Most of Karen Ferrell's remainswere missing, likely consumed
by animals, while Marad's bodywas in better preservation, her
head had been completely severed, while more of Karen's neck
remained on her body.
There were numerous extensivesearches of the area where the
(10:57):
bodies were found, and yet notraces of their heads have ever
been found.
After the bodies were found, twomore anonymous letters were
sent On April 21st.
One letter was sent to thepolice and read the heads can be
found from the position of thebodies.
By striking out 10°SW for thefirst head and approximately
(11:20):
10°SE for the second roughly onemile, you are already seven
tenths of that mile.
They are within the mineentrance, if you can call it an
entrance, considering itscondition.
They are buried not over onefoot in depth.
The ones responsible for themurders scattered some of the
girls' personal effects over thegeneral area, creating a
(11:40):
pattern of confusion making itdifficult for you to pinpoint
any exact location.
My first two letters triggeredyour intensive search.
Don't give up now.
Sincerely, the last and finalletter was sent to Marid's
parents, I have sent threeletters to the Morgantown State
Police Department concerningyour daughter, marid and Karen.
(12:03):
Concerning your daughter, maridand Karen, the first and second
were taken with someseriousness and instituted a
search which was successful inlocating two bodies, minus the
heads, which were needed forother purposes.
All of a sudden, the policehave been complaining about an
error in the mileage stated inmy second letter.
After one has driven in an ovalpattern for 26 miles, under the
(12:27):
weather condition of Jan andunder the involved circumstances
, it is possible to make aboutan 18-mile error in the precise
location of the bodies.
Nevertheless, they were foundsouth of Morgantown, as stated
in the letter, even to thatwhich was called a logging lane
or old mine road.
In my opinion, both the sameInvestigators had good reason to
(12:52):
suspect that the person writingthe letters was a likely
suspect in the murders.
But one law enforcement officerlater used handwriting analysis
to trace back the letters tomembers of the Psychic Science
Church, a small religious cult.
In the end, it was believedthat the letters were nothing
more than a hoax orchestrated bythis cult.
(13:14):
The individuals responsible forwriting them were absolved of
any connection to the murders.
If the letters were a hoax,they became a detriment to the
case because law enforcement hadplayed such significant focus
on them and ruled out potentialsuspects in the process.
Despite the harrowingdiscoveries of the bodies, the
(13:35):
quest to identify the assailantof the murdered coeds went cold,
leaving the community hauntedby the unsolved case.
It would be six years before anew lead emerged through the
confession of a New Jerseyprisoner named Eugene Paul
Clausen.
Clausen, tormented by traumaticnightmares involving the
(13:56):
headless co-eds, confessed firstto a cellmate, then to a prison
guard and ultimately to theWest Virginia State Police
prison guard and ultimately tothe West Virginia State Police.
Clausen was born in Morgantown,west Virginia, and for much of
his life he had lived in thenearby town of Point Marion.
He had a history of priorsexual offences, particularly
against children, and at thetime of his confession he was
(14:18):
serving a prison sentence forthe sexual assault of a
14-year-old girl.
According to him, he hadvisited his mother in Point
Marion, pennsylvania, andborrowed a car where he drove
nine miles to Morgantown to pickup Marid and Karen.
Claiming to be under theinfluence of LSD and marijuana,
he took the girls to a secludedwooded area outside of
(14:39):
Morgantown.
There he forced them toparticipate in sex acts before
shooting one of them in the head.
He returned to the car,retrieved a machete and
proceeded to decapitate one ofthe girls.
He then repeated the samehorrifying act on the other and
hid their bodies in the woodswhere he covered them with logs
and rocks.
Clausen even claimed to havehad sex with the severed heads
(15:01):
before he disposed of the headsand the murder weapon had sex
with the severed heads before hedisposed of the heads and the
murder weapon.
Clausen's trial was scheduledfor October 1976 in West
Virginia and, to everyone'ssurprise, he entered a plea of
not guilty and recanted hisprevious confessions.
Despite his insistence on hisinnocence, clausen was found
guilty and sentenced to lifeimprisonment without the
(15:23):
possibility of parole.
However, the case took anothertwist when Clausen appealed the
ruling and was granted anothertrial, which occurred on October
26th 1981.
This time, the trial took placein Randolph County, a move
aimed at reducing potentialbiases from Monongalia County
locals reducing potential biasesfrom Monongalia County locals.
(15:45):
He was convicted again for thecrime.
Clausen staunchly maintainedhis innocence in the murder case
until his passing in prison in2009.
Many individuals involved withthe case have now shifted their
perspective, strongly leaningtoward the belief that he was
not the perpetrator of thesespecific crimes.
Leaning toward the belief thathe was not the perpetrator of
(16:08):
these specific crimes.
While the consensus was that heposed a substantial threat to
society and deserved a lifetimebehind bars for his crimes
against children, there was nophysical evidence ever linking
him to the crime.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
In 2006, the investigation into Marid and
Karen's murders was reopened bythe West Virginia State Police
and yet, over 50 years later,much of the case remains
shrouded in mystery, unsolved.
Throughout the years, facedwith the prospect that the true
killer was never brought tojustice, many have come up with
(16:39):
their own theories about who mayhave been responsible, and the
search for the killer has ledinvestigators and the public
down various paths, examiningmultiple suspects.
One of these suspects wasWilliam Bernard Hacker Sr, who
was arrested in December 1970for the murder and decapitation
of Herbert Coburn in Baltimore.
Hacker's history raisedsuspicions as there had been a
(17:02):
series of unsolved decapitationsbetween 1921 and 1952 in areas
near his residence.
However, after committing adouble murder in 1952 and
subsequent imprisonment, thedecapitations ceased until the
Coed murder in 1970.
Another individual of interestwas Eddie Slaughter, a janitor
(17:23):
at Westchester Hall, thedormitory where Marad and Karen
lived.
His involvement came to lightwhen a woman reported a
disturbing encounter with him.
She described feelinguncomfortable, particularly when
Slaughter became fixated on herfur coat and hat.
His sick leave on the nights.
The girls went missing added tosuspicions.
Handwriting analysis wasconducted, but it indicated that
(17:47):
he was unlikely to be theauthor of the triangle letters
initially believed to be fromthe killer.
Consequently, slaughter wasruled out as a suspect In the
case's reopening in 2006,investigators looked into Ronnie
Bird, who was linked todisturbing activities like
animal torture and setting fires.
(18:07):
It was noted that Bird had aphoto of Eddie Slaughter on his
wall.
This connection raisedsuspicions due to Slaughter's
previous association with thecase.
Lastly, john Brennan Crutchley,known as the Vampire Rapist,
was proposed as a potentialsuspect by Geoffrey Cameron
Fuller, a co-author of a bookabout the murders.
(18:28):
Crutchley's name emerged due tocircumstantial factors, such as
his sister attending WestVirginia University in 1970 and
his father's connection to theland where the bodies were found
.
Yet there is no concreteevidence placing Crutchley in or
near Morgantown in 1970, and,apart from his status as a
(18:49):
serial killer with ties to thearea, there is no substantial
proof linking him to the murdersof Marad and Karen.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
The case remains unsolved, with no conclusive
evidence tying any of thesesuspects to the gruesome murders
, leaving the mystery unresolved.
After more than five decades,as investigators continue their
relentless pursuit of the truth,the shadow of this haunting
(19:24):
mystery still looms over WestVirginia.
Thank you for joining us onthis journey through the shadows
of humanity.
On the End of Reason podcast.
As we conclude today's episode,remember that the pursuit of
truth never truly ends.
Until next time, stay vigilant,stay curious and never let go
of reason.
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