Member-only story
Man Arrested in 50 Year Old Cold Case Murder After Son Gives DNA to Police
Nancy Elaine Anderson was killed in 1972 while living in Hawaii
On January 7, 1972, 19-year-old Nancy Anderson was in her apartment getting a demonstration from two silverware salesmen when her roommate came home around 2:30 PM. Her roommate, 18-year-old Jody Spooner, joined as the men finished, with neither woman buying any silverware. Jody then went to her room to have a nap. Jody woke up from her nap around 5 PM; she went to the kitchen when she noticed that the water was running in Nancy’s bathroom, which she thought was odd as she thought Nancy would have left for work.
She discovered Nancy’s bedroom door ajar and found Nancy on the bedroom floor bloody. Jody immediately went to a neighbor’s apartment and said they needed to call 911 because Nancy had killed herself.
Nancy moved to Hawaii in October 1971 to have some time there before starting college. She was a 1970 John Glen High School graduate in Bay City, Michigan. She had just returned from a trip home to visit family for Christmas and New Year. Nancy worked at a Mcdonalds’ and was known to be very friendly to anyone she met.
When police arrived, they discovered that Nancy had multiple stable wounds on her neck, chest, stomach, back, and sides. She also had what looked like defensive wounds, which, for police, eliminated the chance they were self-inflicted. Police collected evidence, including several bloody towels and multiple sets of fingerprints.
Police interviewed Jody, who said she had heard something odd around 4:15 but hadn’t thought much about it because there weren’t any further disturbances after that. She also believed all the doors had been locked, including Jody’s bedroom.
Police talked to several people in the surrounding area, but one had heard or seen anything suspicious.
Neighbors and acquaintances of Nancy said that she was known to be very friendly and often had men come over or go out on several dates since moving to Hawaii.
Police had found evidence that Nancy had opened a bank account at the Bank of Hawaii that day. When they talked to the teller who had assisted her, they said she had arrived…