The Alphabet murders
Rochester, Monroe County, New York · 1971–1973
Each murdered girl shared her first and last initial — Carmen Colón, Wanda Walkowicz, Michelle Maenza — and each was found in a town whose name began with that same letter.
Overview
Between November 1971 and November 1973, three girls aged 10 and 11 — Carmen Colón, Wanda Walkowicz, and Michelle Maenza — were abducted, sexually assaulted, and strangled in the Rochester, New York area of Monroe County. The press dubbed the killings the 'Alphabet murders' or 'double initial murders' because each victim had matching first and last initials, and each body was found in a community sharing that initial: Colón near Churchville, Walkowicz in Webster, and Maenza in Macedon. Investigators interrogated more than 800 potential suspects over the decades, but no one has ever been charged. The cases have never been officially linked to one another and all three remain open and unsolved.
Where it stands
The three killings remain unsolved; New York State Police note that 'all three cases remain open' and that they 'have not been officially connected.' Over the years authorities examined numerous individuals and, according to Wikipedia, 'investigators interrogated more than 800 potential suspects.' Several discussed figures are now deceased: a local serial rapist who died by suicide in January 1974 was exhumed in 2007 for DNA testing and was excluded from the Walkowicz murder, and a relative of one victim — an early focus of suspicion against whom investigators had only circumstantial evidence and who was never charged — died by suicide in 1991. Two later, nationally known convicted serial killers have also been raised publicly in connection with the Rochester cases; both are living, neither was charged in these murders, and reporting indicates physical evidence (a palm print and DNA) did not match them. No one has been arrested or convicted in any of the three deaths.
Persons of interest
The theories below are reported strictly as attributed to the cited sources. Naming a person here is not an accusation. Individuals are named only where they are deceased, were formally charged, were officially named by authorities, or have been publicly cleared.
- A local serial rapist, deceasedCleared
A serial rapist active in the Rochester area who died by suicide in January 1974; per Wikipedia, his body was exhumed in 2007 for DNA testing and he was excluded from the Wanda Walkowicz murder. He was never charged in these murders.[1]
- A relative of one victim, deceasedDeceased
A relative of one of the victims who was an early focus of suspicion based only on circumstantial evidence, with no physical evidence linking him to the crime. He was never charged and died by suicide in 1991. Per Wikipedia and Oxygen.[1]
- A convicted serial killer publicly discussed in connection with the case (living)Not publicly named
A later-convicted serial killer who worked in the Rochester area at the time has been publicly discussed in connection with the case; reporting indicates a palm print recovered from one victim did not match him. He is living and was never charged in these murders.[3]
- A second convicted serial killer raised as a person of interest (living)Not publicly named
A serial killer later convicted of California murders of women with alliterative names — including a victim coincidentally named Carmen Colon — has been raised as a person of interest; DNA from the Rochester killings did not match him. He is living and was never charged in these murders.[3]
Sources
- Alphabet murders
“Although investigators interrogated more than 800 potential suspects in relation to the Alphabet murders, the perpetrator or perpetrators of the homicides was never caught, and the case remains unsolved.”
- Homicide Victim: Walkowicz, Wanda Lee
“These cases have not been officially connected, however, all three cases remain open.”
- The Alphabet Murders: All About The Victims and Suspects
“While several individuals have been eyed as suspects, no one has been arrested and convicted with any of the murders.”
- Will the 'Alphabet' Murders of Upstate New York Ever Be Solved?
“Their names were alliterative, and their bodies were discarded in towns or villages beginning with the same letter as the victim's initials.”