Alphabet Murders

Overview

The Alphabet murders, also known as the Double Initial murders, consist of an unsolved series of child murders that took place between 1971 and 1973 in Rochester, New York. This chilling case revolves around the brutal killings of three young girls, all of whom shared the unique characteristic of having both their first and last names starting with the same letter. Each victim was sexually assaulted and murdered, with their bodies discarded in or near towns or villages with names corresponding to the initial of their names.

Quick Facts

• Other Names: Double Initial murders
• Victims: 3 girls
• Span of Crimes: November 16, 1971 – November 26, 1973
• Country: United States
• State: New York
• Date Apprehended: Unapprehended

The victims included Carmen Colón, Wanda Walkowicz, and Michelle Maenza. Each girl was aged ten or eleven, and all suffered horrific fates that generated intense media coverage and public outrage.

The Murders

Carmen Colón

At 4:20 PM on November 16, 1971, 10-year-old Carmen Colón, a Puerto Rican child, vanished while running an errand in Rochester. Eyewitness accounts indicate she entered a pharmacy on West Main Street, but upon discovering that her grandmother’s prescription was not ready, she left, telling the store owner, Jack Corbin, "I got to go." Shortly after, she was seen entering a car parked nearby.

Approximately fifty minutes later, multiple motorists on Interstate 490 observed a terrifying scene—Carmen, naked from the waist down, was running from a reversing vehicle believed to be a dark-colored Ford Pinto hatchback. Witnesses reported that she was waving her arms and shouting for help, only to be submissively led back to the vehicle by her abductor.

Two days later, on November 18, two teenage boys stumbled upon Carmen’s partially nude body in a gully near Churchville, about 12 miles from where she was last seen. Her coat was found in a culvert nearby, while her trousers were discovered on November 30, close to the service road where motorists had seen her trying to escape.

An autopsy revealed horrific details: Carmen had been raped, suffered fractures to her skull and vertebrae, and had been strangled manually. Additionally, her body bore extensive scratches, indicating a struggle. Public outrage surged not only due to the brutality of the crime but also because none of the motorists who saw Carmen in distress had intervened.

In the wake of her murder, local newspapers, including the Times Union and the Democrat and Chronicle, offered a combined reward of $2,500 for information leading to the capture of her killer. This amount grew to over $6,000 as local businesses and residents contributed to the fund. Despite interrogating numerous suspects, including Carmen’s uncle, no one was charged, and by December 21, the number of investigators on the case was reduced to just three.

In early 1972, five billboards featuring Carmen's picture and a plea for information were erected alongside major Rochester expressways, offering a $6,000 reward. While this initiative generated new leads, none proved fruitful.

Wanda Walkowicz

Fast forward to April 2, 1973. At around 5:00 PM, 11-year-old Wanda Walkowicz disappeared while running an errand on the east side of Rochester. After purchasing groceries from a local delicatessen, she was last seen walking alone down Conkey Avenue. Her mother reported her missing at 8:00 PM that same evening.

The police launched a massive search, deploying nearly fifty detectives to comb the area around her home and the Genesee River, where Wanda often played. Despite these efforts, no trace of her was found. Witnesses reported seeing her struggling with her grocery bag as a brown vehicle passed by.

The next day, at 10:15 AM, a police officer discovered Wanda’s fully clothed body at the base of a hillside along an access road to State Route 104 in Webster, about seven miles from Rochester. The positioning of her body suggested she had been thrown from a moving vehicle.

An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, strangled with a ligature—likely a belt—and had several defensive wounds, indicating she fought back against her attacker. In a bizarre twist, her body had been redressed after death, and traces of semen and cat fur were found on her clothing. The Walkowicz family did not own a pet with fur matching that found on Wanda, raising further questions.

Once again, the police established an anonymous hotline and offered a $10,000 reward for information. Eyewitnesses came forward, some claiming to have seen Wanda speaking with someone in a large brown vehicle shortly before her disappearance. Despite this, the police dismissed any connection between Wanda’s murder and Carmen’s, even as investigators began to suspect a pattern.

In September 1973, local television station WOKR aired a reconstruction of Wanda's abduction, which led to over 200 calls from the public, yet no actionable leads emerged.

Michelle Maenza

Just seven months later, on November 26, 1973, 11-year-old Michelle Maenza was reported missing by her mother after she failed to return home from school. Michelle was last seen around 3:20 PM, walking alone toward a shopping plaza to retrieve a purse her mother had left in a store.

A witness observed Michelle sitting in the passenger seat of a beige or tan vehicle traveling at high speed shortly after she left school. Ten minutes later, another motorist spotted a man with a flat tire by a large beige vehicle, holding a girl believed to be Michelle by the wrist. When the motorist offered help, the man obscured the girl from view and made a menacing gesture, prompting the witness to drive away.

On November 28, Michelle's body was discovered lying face down in a ditch along a rural road in Macedon, approximately 15 miles from Rochester. The autopsy revealed she had endured extensive blunt force trauma, been raped, and strangled with a ligature, possibly a thin rope. Strands of white cat fur were again found on her clothing, and leaf samples matching the foliage at the crime scene were recovered from her clenched hand, suggesting she may have been killed near where her body was found.

In a grim detail, investigators noted that Michelle’s stomach contained traces of food consumed shortly before her death, corroborating eyewitness accounts of her being seen with a man multiple times that evening.

Funerals

All three girls were laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester. Carmen’s funeral took place on November 22, 1971, attended by around 200 mourners. Wanda was laid to rest on April 6, 1973, in a small white and gold casket, and Michelle’s funeral occurred on December 1, 1973, attended by numerous mourners who were profoundly affected by the tragedy. At the end of Michelle’s service, her father lamented, “She was a sweet little girl. She didn’t fight much.”

Investigation

The murders of Carmen, Wanda, and Michelle evoked a wave of public outrage and extensive media coverage. Following Michelle’s death, investigators released a composite sketch of a man seen with her, hopeful that this might lead to a break in the case. Anonymity was offered to anyone providing information, and a reward was announced, yet the police were left with no credible suspects.

The investigation into the Alphabet murders led to over 800 potential suspects, but the perpetrator(s) were never apprehended. Notably, each victim came from a lower-income background, and investigators speculated that the murderer may have had ties to social service agencies, enabling him to gain the trust of the children.

Similarities

A striking pattern emerged among the three victims: all were preadolescent females who disappeared on rainy days, and their bodies were discovered nearby, usually close to expressways. Each girl was either fully or partially clothed, and it was evident they had been thrown from or carried to the locations where their bodies were found. Furthermore, all had been raped before being strangled, with Michelle and Wanda’s bodies showing signs of having been redressed post-mortem.

Investigators expressed skepticism about the likelihood that the killer had targeted the girls based solely on the double initials of their names, arguing that the risk of being noticed during a prolonged stalking period would be too great. They also speculated that Carmen's abduction might have been orchestrated by someone known to her, given the circumstances of her disappearance.

Suspects

Miguel Colón

Carmen Colón’s uncle, Miguel Colón, emerged as a primary suspect. Following the separation of Carmen’s parents, Miguel had formed a relationship with her mother. On the day of Carmen’s murder, he had purchased a car matching the description of the vehicle seen by witnesses pursuing Carmen. Investigators noted that the car’s interior had been extensively cleaned, and a doll belonging to Carmen was found inside. Just days after her murder, Miguel expressed a desire to leave the country due to having “done something wrong in Rochester.” He fled to Puerto Rico but was later extradited for questioning, where he could not provide a solid alibi. Despite circumstantial evidence, no charges were filed against him. He died by suicide in 1991.

Dennis Termini

Another significant suspect was Dennis Termini, a 25-year-old firefighter in Rochester known as the "Garage Rapist." He had committed multiple rapes during the same timeframe as the murders and owned a beige vehicle similar to those seen by witnesses. On January 1, 1974, Termini attempted to abduct a teenage girl, leading to a police pursuit that culminated in his suicide. Forensic examinations later revealed traces of cat fur in his vehicle. In 2007, his remains were exhumed for DNA comparison with the evidence from the cases, but he was ultimately ruled out as a suspect in Michelle's murder.

Kenneth Bianchi

Kenneth Bianchi, a notorious serial killer known as one of the Hillside Stranglers, also became a person of interest. During the time of the Alphabet murders, he worked as an ice cream vendor in Rochester and drove a vehicle matching descriptions from witnesses. He later relocated to Los Angeles, where he and his cousin committed several murders. Despite his denials, investigators have not ruled him out.

Joseph Naso

In April 2011, Joseph Naso, a New York native who had lived in Rochester, was arrested in Nevada for the murders of four women in California. These victims also had names beginning with the same letters as their surnames, leading to his classification as a person of interest in the Alphabet murders. However, DNA testing confirmed that he was not connected to Wanda Walkowicz's murder. Naso was convicted in 2013 for the California murders and sentenced to death.

Aftermath

In 1995, Carmen Colón's mother, Guillermina, publicly expressed her anguish over her daughter’s unresolved murder, stating that knowing the identity of her daughter's killer would bring her peace. She emphasized the pain and suffering endured by the families of the victims over the years.

In 2009, the Democrat and Chronicle published a series of articles on the ongoing investigation into the Alphabet murders, which resulted in around twenty new leads. However, none led to any arrests, and the Rochester Police Department remains committed to solving the case.

Media

Film

• A feature film titled The Alphabet Killer, inspired by these tragic events, was released in November 2008, featuring Eliza Dushku.

Literature

• Farnsworth, Cheri L. (2010). Alphabet Killer: The True Story of the Double Initial Murders. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-811-70632-2.
• Thompson, Emily G. (2018). Unsolved Child Murders: Eighteen American Cases, 1956–1998. North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc. pp. 34–43. ISBN 978-1-476-67000-3.
• Tubman, Donald A. (2018). Nightmare in Rochester: The Double-Initial Murders. United States: Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. ISBN 978-1-790-16809-5.

Television

• The Discovery Channel aired a 45-minute episode focusing on the Alphabet murders in 2001, which included insights from former FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood, who developed a profile for investigators.

See Also

• Child abduction
• Child sexual abuse
• Cold case
• List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
• List of kidnappings
• List of murdered American children
• List of serial killers in the United States
• Unsolved murders

Sources

• Wikipedia article on Alphabet murders