July 21, 1976 - The charred and decomposed remains of 20-year-old Debra Bennett were discovered
by land assessors in a gully along Old Sauk Pass Road, approximately 14 miles from Madison in
Western Dane County.
An autopsy, conducted by Dr. Billy Bauman, revealed that Debra had been dead for at least 10 days,
but the exact cause of death was unknown. A fractured collarbone and dental records had enabled
her identification. Soon after her discovery, investigators learned from friends that she had
recently been evicted from her apartment and had been staying in a room at the Cardinal Hotel in
downtown Madison. A native of Ridgeway in Iowa County, Debra had only lived in the area a short
time. Investigators had no suspects and very little evidence to go on. In a mysterious twist,
three weeks after her body was found, the key to her room was mailed to the hotel. There was no
note, return address, or any identifying marks. Investigators have yet to release the postmark
information or the results of the examination they conducted for latent prints. As with
Christine Rothschild’s
murder, the case was eventually filed away in a folder pending future leads.
Source:
crimelibrary
