Ruth Marrie Terry came into the world on September 8th, 1936, in a modest mountainside shack in Whitwell, Tennessee, born to Johnny and Eva Terry. Tragedy struck early in Ruth's life when her mother passed away at the tender age of 23.
As she grew older, Ruth sought a better life beyond the confines of Whitwell. In 1957, she left her hometown behind and found work at the Fisher Body automotive plant in Livonia, Michigan. It was there that she encountered the challenges of being a single mother, giving birth to her son, Richard, in 1958. However, due to financial hardships, she made the difficult decision to allow the plant's superintendent, Richard Hanchett Sr., to adopt her son in exchange for covering her expenses. With this arrangement settled, Ruth left Livonia and headed west to California in pursuit of a new beginning.
Years passed, and in 1972, Ruth reached out to her estranged son, hoping to reconnect. Unfortunately, Richard was not ready to meet her, having recently survived a drug overdose that left him in a coma for eighteen harrowing days.
On February 16, 1974, Ruth married Guy Rockwell Muldavin, an antique dealer from Reno, Nevada. Their marriage, however, seemed to be marred by Muldavin's possessive behavior, as noted by Ruth's grand-niece, Brittanie Novonglosky. Despite this, the couple visited Ruth's family in Whitwell just months before her mysterious disappearance.
In the late summer of 1974, Muldavin returned to Tennessee alone, informing Ruth's family that she had vanished from their California home. He offered little information, leaving Ruth's loved ones bewildered and concerned for her well-being. Her brother, James, took matters into his own hands, traveling to California and hiring a private investigator to search for her. However, all efforts seemed to lead to dead ends, with the investigator reporting that Ruth had sold all her belongings and left willingly, possibly joining a religious cult.
For the next two decades, Ruth's family believed her to be deceased, as her name appeared in family obituaries. Her sister-in-law, Jan Terry, speculated that Ruth might be in a witness protection program, preventing her from reaching out to her family.
Ruth Marrie Terry's life was one marked by hardships, a brief glimmer of hope in marriage, and an ultimate disappearance shrouded in mystery. Her story serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities and uncertainties of life, leaving her loved ones to wonder what truly became of the lady of the dunes.
Discovery and Investigation of the Lady of the Dunes
On a summer day in 1974, the peaceful serenity of the Race Point Dunes in Provincetown, Massachusetts, was shattered by a grim discovery. A 12-year-old girl, drawn by the persistent barking of her dog, stumbled upon the decomposing body of an unidentified woman. The remains, lying just yards from a road, were surrounded by a flurry of insect activity, indicating that the woman had likely been there for about two weeks.
The scene was hauntingly quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the distant waves breaking the silence. Two sets of footprints led to the body, suggesting that someone had been with her, and tire tracks were found 50 yards away, hinting at a possible vehicle involvement.
The victim, lying face-down on half of a beach blanket, showed no signs of struggle. It was theorized that she either knew her killer or had been asleep when she died. Under her head, investigators found a blue bandanna and a pair of Wrangler jeans. Her long auburn or red hair was pulled back into a ponytail by a distinctive gold-flecked elastic band, and her toenails were painted pink.
Despite the advanced state of decomposition, investigators were able to gather some details about the victim. She was approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighed 145 pounds, and had an athletic build. She had expensive dental work, including crowns, valued between $5,000 and $10,000, and several teeth had been removed. Curiously, both hands and one forearm were missing, suggesting an attempt to conceal her identity or the killer's.
The most chilling detail was the nearly decapitated state of the victim, possibly indicating strangulation, with one side of her head crushed, possibly with a military-type entrenching tool. This head injury was determined to be the cause of death. Signs of sexual assault, likely postmortem, were also present.
Despite extensive efforts, the woman's identity remained a mystery, and the case eventually went cold. In 2014, one of the case investigators raised funds for a new casket, as the original had deteriorated over the years. The woman, known as the Lady of the Dunes, was laid to rest once more, her identity and the circumstances of her death still shrouded in darkness, waiting for the day when justice will be served.
Investigation and Leads in the Lady of the Dunes Case
The investigation into the identity and circumstances surrounding the Lady of the Dunes' death was extensive but ultimately yielded few concrete leads.
Police sifted through thousands of missing-person cases and checked lists of approved vehicles in the area, but no matches were found. The lack of disturbance in the sand and on the beach blanket suggested that the body may have been moved to the spot where it was discovered. Despite thorough searches, no significant evidence was found besides the jeans, bandana, blanket, and ponytail holder.
In 1979, the first facial reconstruction of the victim was created using clay. Her remains were exhumed in 1980 for examination, but no new clues were uncovered. The body was exhumed again in 2000 for DNA testing, and in 2010, a CT scan of her skull was conducted to aid in another facial reconstruction by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Several leads emerged over the years, but none led to a breakthrough. In 1987, a Canadian woman claimed her father had strangled a woman in Massachusetts around 1972, but efforts to locate her were unsuccessful. Another woman thought the reconstruction resembled her missing sister, who vanished in Boston in 1974. Additionally, there was a lead involving Rory Gene Kesinger, a criminal who had broken out of jail in 1973 and bore a resemblance to the victim. However, DNA from Kesinger's mother did not match the victim's.
Two other missing women, Francis Ewalt of Montana and Vicke Lamberton of Massachusetts, were also ruled out as potential identities for the Lady of the Dunes.
In a more unusual turn, speculation arose in 2015 that the victim may have been an extra in the 1975 film Jaws, which was shot on Martha's Vineyard, about 100 miles south of Provincetown, between May and October 1974. This theory was sparked by a scene in the film where a woman in the crowd appears to be wearing clothing similar to those found with the victim. While this lead generated interest, it has been viewed by some as unlikely and speculative.
Despite these leads and theories, the identity of the Lady of the Dunes remains a mystery, leaving investigators and the public alike haunted by the unanswered questions surrounding her death.
Identification and Suspect in the Lady of the Dunes Case
After decades of being known as the Lady of the Dunes, the victim was finally identified as Ruth Marie Terry in 2022. This breakthrough came through the use of investigative genealogy, which helped to trace her distant relatives and eventually led to her identification. The FBI field office in Boston announced this development on October 31, 2022, but did not disclose any details about potential suspects or why Terry was in Massachusetts at the time of her murder. The case is currently being investigated as a homicide by the Massachusetts State Police (MSP).
Following Terry's identification, the MSP announced on November 2, 2022, that they were seeking information on her deceased husband, Guy Rockwell Muldavin. Muldavin had a complex history, including multiple marriages and suspicions surrounding the disappearances of two women in Seattle in the 1960s. He was also a suspect in the murder of Henry Lawrence "Red" Baird and the disappearance of Barbara Joe Kelley in 1950. However, he was never formally charged in connection with these cases.
Muldavin moved to Chualar, California, in the mid-1970s and lived there until his death in 2002. He was officially named as Terry's killer on August 28, 2023, shedding some light on the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.
Earlier Suspects and Confessions in the Lady of the Dunes Case
Over the years, several suspects and confessions emerged in connection with the Lady of the Dunes case, adding layers of complexity to the investigation.
In 1981, investigators learned of a woman who bore a resemblance to the victim and was seen with mobster Whitey Bulger around the time of the woman's presumed death. Bulger was notorious for removing his victims' teeth, a detail that seemed to align with the condition of the victim's body. However, no concrete link to Bulger was ever proven, and he was murdered in prison in 2018, leaving this lead unresolved.
Another early suspect was Tony Costa, a serial killer operating in Truro, Massachusetts. Initially considered a potential perpetrator, Costa was later eliminated as a suspect, as he died on May 12, 1974, prior to the victim's discovery in July of that year.
In a surprising turn, murderer Hadden Clark confessed to the murder of the Lady of the Dunes. Clark's confession was clouded by his history of paranoid schizophrenia, raising doubts about the veracity of his claims. He mentioned that he could have told the police the victim's name but chose not to after allegedly being mistreated by them. In 2004, Clark sent a letter to a friend detailing the murder and even provided drawings, including one depicting a handless, naked woman and a map pointing to where the body was found.
In April 2000, Clark led police to a location where he claimed to have buried two victims 20 years prior, suggesting a pattern of violent behavior spanning several decades. Despite these confessions and claims, the case remains officially unsolved, leaving investigators grappling with the complexities of false confessions and the enigmatic circumstances surrounding the Lady of the Dunes' tragic death.
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