Major Breakthrough In 50-Year-Old Cold Case Homicide In Ledyard

LEDYARD, CT — More than fifty years later, a mystery involving a homicide victim in Ledyard has been solved. State police said they have identified one of the victims killed in a double shooting Dec. 31, 1970.

Investigators have identified the victim as Linda Sue Childers of Kentucky.

"Conversations with the family confirmed her whereabouts in the northeast throughout the years before her disappearance," state police said in a statement.

Police initially found the skeletal remains of the two victims in a shallow grave in Ledyard on May 30, 1974. A witness to the crime said the two had been shot.

One victim had used an alias and her identity was never verified. An examination found the cause of death to be a gunshot to the head. Shortly after the bodies were discovered, the suspects in the double homicide were arrested and later convicted, according to state police. Both suspects are now dead.

No one knew the identity of the woman for more than 50 years. In 2011, the case data was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, and in 2012 DNA was entered into the Connecticut Department of Scientific Services. However, no matches were found, and police had few leads.

In July 2022, samples were sent to a private company working with the state, Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy. Investigators reopened the case and identified the victim's sister in January. Investigators contacted the sister and discovered that the victim had a daughter.

The daughter provided a DNA sample, confirming that the victim was Childers.

"It is gratifying to have helped identify Linda and, most importantly, give her family some answers," state police wrote.