The murder of Elizabeth 'Betty' Wolsieffer
Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania · 1986
Overview
Elizabeth 'Betty' Wolsieffer, 32, was found strangled in the bedroom of her Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania home on the morning of August 30, 1986, while her husband, dentist E. Glen Wolsieffer, lay injured downstairs claiming an intruder had broken in, killed Betty, and choked him unconscious. The case stalled for years until investigators methodically dismantled the intruder story by re-examining the physical evidence: a backwards ladder that left no marks in the ground, a window screen cut from the inside, blue denim fibers under Betty's fingernails consistent with the outfit Glen had worn that night, his own hairs torn out by the roots on the bed, and strangulation marks on Glen that were inconsistent with his account. Glen was arrested in 1989, convicted of third-degree murder by a jury in November 1990, and sentenced to eight to twenty years. He admitted responsibility before being paroled in 2005.
How it was solved
There was no DNA hit and no fingerprint database match in this case; it was solved by re-examining the physical and forensic evidence and exposing a staged crime scene. Investigators determined the ladder propped against the garage was facing the wrong way and had left no indentations in the ground, the second-floor window screen had been damaged from the inside, and Glen's car carried no morning dew while Betty's did, suggesting it had been driven during the night. Forensically, blue fibers recovered from beneath Betty's fingernails were consistent with the denim outfit Glen had worn to a nightclub hours earlier, his own hairs were found on the bed with the roots attached (indicating they had been forcibly pulled out), and the strangulation marks on the back of Glen's neck were inconsistent with his story that an attacker had come at him from behind. Combined with evidence of his extramarital affairs and Betty's stated wish to leave the marriage, the reconstructed physical record persuaded a jury that the intruder never existed.
Sources
- Glen Wolsieffer: Three-Timing Dentist
“Glen had strangulation marks on the back of his own neck, inconsistent with his story that the intruder approached him from the back”
- 10 Criminals Who Were Caught Thanks to Trace Fiber Evidence
“Blue fibers under Betty's fingernails were linked to the denim outfit Glen had worn the night of the murder”
- Falls Church Dentist to Be Tried in Wife's Slaying
“Wolsieffer, 36, who is free on $200,000 bond, is accused of strangling his wife, Betty, on Aug. 30, 1986, at their Wilkes-Barre home.”
- Falls Church Dentist Guilty of Killing His Wife in Pa.
“Wolsieffer was convicted in November 1990 of third-degree murder after a jury brought in from Dauphin County rejected his claim that Betty was killed by an intruder who knocked him unconscious.”
- Wolsieffer Admits to Killing Wife; Parole Board Spokeswoman Confirms Admission Factored Into Decision to Free Him
“It took 19 years and six trips before the state parole board, but E. Glen Wolsieffer finally admitted it was him, not an intruder, who strangled his 32-year-old wife, Betty, to death in 1986.”
- Glen Wolsieffer Archives
“On the bed, police found Glen's hairs with roots attached, meaning someone forcibly removed them from his head.”
- E. Glen Wolsieffer
“Glen received an eight-to-twenty-year sentence in June 1992. After serving thirteen years, Glen was granted parole in May 2005.”
- Elizabeth 'Betty' Tasker Wolsieffer (1954-1986)
“Elizabeth 'Betty' Tasker Wolsieffer (1954-1986) Find a Grave Memorial”