 Terry is thought to have died from a fatal blow to the left side of her head, with officers estimating that her killing could have happened weeks before and in a different location to where her body was found. This is due to their being no sign of a struggle near the body or on it. She was also said to have been sexually assaulted after she had died. It is unclear why Terry, who was married and had a child, was in Massachusetts at the time of her death, although she had connections in the US state in addition to California, and Michigan according to authorities. Her body was found by a 13-year-old dog walker in Princetown ( Provincetown Police Department) "This is without a doubt a major break in the investigation that will hopefully bring all of us closer to identifying the killer," Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston division, said at a news conference, reported by the Bost){kind=link}
The body of Tennessee native Ruth Marie Terry was found by a 13-year-old girl who was walking her dog about a mile from a National Park Ranger service station in Princetown on July 26, 1974
A murder victim whose dead body was found on a beach in Massachusetts in 1974 has been formally identified by FBI officials.
Tennessee native Ruth Marie Terry was named as Massachusetts’ longest-unidentified homicide victim after the horrendous case, which spanned over five decades, went one step closer to finally closing.
Terry was 37-year-old when her body was found by a 13-year-old girl who was walking her dog about a mile from a National Park Ranger service station in Princetown on July 26, 1974.
Following her murder, Terry’s hands were chopped off, which is believed to be in an attempt to stop authorities from identifying her by her fingertips, before she was unsuccessfully decapitated.