FBI identifies ‘Lady of the Dunes’ nearly 50 years after woman’s mutilated body was found near Provincetown - The Boston Globe

Authorities connected Monday announced the individuality of the alleged Lady of the Dunes, a pistillate whose mutilated remains were recovered successful Provincetown successful July 1974, a stunning breakthrough successful the infamous acold lawsuit that has baffled investigators for astir 50 years.

The victim, recovered bare successful the soil dunes adjacent the extremity of Cape Cod with her hands chopped off, was named Ruth Marie Terry, 37, who was calved successful Tennessee and had ties to California, Massachusetts, and Michigan, instrumentality enforcement officials said.

“This is without a uncertainty a large interruption successful the probe that volition hopefully bring each of america person to identifying the killer,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI’s Boston division, said astatine a quality conference. “At the time, the origin of decease was determined to beryllium a stroke to the caput and is estimated to person occurred respective weeks prior.”

The woman’s hands had been severed, presumably truthful she couldn’t beryllium identified done fingerprints, and “her caput was astir severed from her body,” Bonavolonta said.

“It was a brutal death, and for the past 48 years, investigators with the Massachusetts State Police and Provincetown Police Department person worked tirelessly to place her done assorted means,” helium said. “We besides recognize that portion we person identified Ruth arsenic the unfortunate of this horrific murder, it does not easiness the symptom for her family. Nothing can. But hopefully it answers immoderate questions portion we proceed to look for her killer.”

Authorities did not place immoderate suspects.

Investigators determined her individuality done investigative genealogy, which combines DNA investigation with accepted genealogical probe and humanities records, helium said. The FBI received confirmation of her individuality past week.

“This is simply a unsocial method that tin make caller leads for unsolved homicides, arsenic good arsenic assistance place chartless victims,” Bonavolonta said.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said the techniques mirrored those utilized by California investigators to place a serial slayer known arsenic the Golden State Killer.

“We volition prosecute each pb and each hint to bring this idiosyncratic to justice,” O’Keefe said.

Terry was calved successful 1936 successful Tennessee. She was “a daughter, sister, aunt, wife, and mother,” Bonavolonta said, urging anyone with accusation astir her to interaction the Massachusetts State Police oregon the FBI.

“Today, implicit 48 years aft her execution and discovery, we tin yet accidental her name,” State Police Colonel Christopher Mason said. “We cognize Ruth had household and friends who loved her. And we are alert that this improvement has not been an casual 1 for them.”

Mason said the unresolved lawsuit had haunted “generations of Provincetown constabulary officers and Massachusetts authorities troopers.”

“Today’s recognition of the Lady of the Dunes is not the extremity of the case, oregon adjacent the opening of the end,” helium said. “But this accomplishment does people an important milestone towards identifying Ruth’s killer. It represents a captious find that makes imaginable the remainder of the enactment that lies ahead.”

At the clip her assemblage was recovered connected soil dunes astatine Race Point Beach, officials estimated the pistillate was betwixt 25 and 30 years old, astir 5 feet, 8 inches gangly with a big-boned, diversion build. She was recovered unclothed, lying sideways connected a airy green, terrycloth formation blanket, the Globe reported successful 1987. Her dungarees and blue-print bandanna were folded neatly nether her caput arsenic if utilized arsenic a pillow, authorities person said.

Her long, reddish-brown hairsbreadth was held backmost with a barrette. On her teeth were 7 golden crowns, worthy astir $5,000 to $8,000 astatine the time. She had been sexually molested with a woody object, seemingly aft her death.

Police surmised astatine the clip that the murderer had wanted to contradict immoderate anticipation that fingerprints could beryllium traced to a sanction that by relation mightiness assistance lick the crime. But that was a twelve years earlier forensic DNA became a ineligible instrumentality successful transgression court.

The assemblage was recovered connected a blistery July time by a 13-year-old miss walking her dog. Pathologists thought the unfortunate had been dormant for a fewer days, blaming vigor and dune flies for the mediocre information of the corpse. Investigators had fewer clues. There was nary motion of a struggle, starring constabulary to judge she knew her attacker, and that she whitethorn adjacent person been killed determination else.

The assemblage was exhumed aggregate times implicit the years arsenic authorities tried to find her identity. After 1 specified exhumation successful 2000, she was reburied astatine St. Peter’s Cemetery successful Provincetown with a headstone that read: “Unidentified Female Body Found Race Point Dunes July 26, 1974.”

“Now, astir fractional a period since her ain dependable was silenced successful the astir horrible of ways, we absorption our enactment wholly connected determining what Ruth Marie Terry did successful life, connected what led her to the eastbound astir constituent of our authorities to the dunes of Provincetown, and to who did this to her,” Mason said Monday.

Material from anterior Globe stories was used. John R. Ellement and Jeremiah Manion of the Globe unit contributed to this report.

Travis Andersen tin beryllium reached astatine travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him connected Twitter @TAGlobe. Shelley Murphy tin beryllium reached astatine shelley.murphy@globe.com. Follow her connected Twitter @shelleymurph.