Draft:Ethel Kidd

Ethel Kidd (27 May 1927 - 18 April 1989) was a sixty-one-year old American woman who was murdered in her home in Burr Hill, Virginia, USA in 1989. Her case aired numerous times on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries before someone recognized the culprit in one of the episodes who generated a tip to the Federal Bureau of Investigations where the suspect was finally caught, arrested, tried and consequently imprisoned for the crimes.

Background
Ethel Kidd had recently moved from her residence in Washington D.C. to Burr Hill, Virginia where her husband bought a piece of land for construction of their retirement home. She also had children and grandchildren that lived nearby whom she loved dearly. On Wednesday, 12th April 1989, construction of the new house was almost complete, and Kidd, who was spending a great deal of time near the newly-established residence, visited her daughter about a mile away. She returned home at approximately 2pm the same day and was seen picking her mail from the local mailbox that afternoon. Kidd's daughter subsequently called her home at 7.30am the next morning but nothing was picked up. Assuming she was on her way to buy some coffee, she never showed up at the residence. Two hours later, at roughly 9.30am, Kidd's son-in-law Thomas, drove to her house, discovering that the front door was locked, a rare occurrence since Kidd had always locked her doors. As he continued approaching the house, he later discovered a road atlas laying in the yard. Later investigations found motel stationary which contained obscene writings which had been used by the suspect as flash cards along the highway to solicit sex from other drivers. Outlined on the flash cards was also a detailed plan conducted by the perpetrator which included multiple references on selecting specific locations and then obtaining a new identity.