Synopsis:
The complainant in this incident was Gayle Ann Cater. Gayle Caterwas single and lived at an apartment complex located in the east side of the city, at 670 Maxey Road.
On Saturday, September 30, 1978, she dropped off her car at an auto repair shop near where she lived. This was sometime between 2:30 PM and 3:00 PM. She then walked home. Later that day, when the shop called for her to pick up her car, at around 5:00 PM, Ms Carter’s phone was busy.
A boyfriend of Ms. Cater’s tried for several hours that evening to get a hold of her on the phone. Worried, he called the phone company and was told that the phone was off the hook. This boyfriend went over to her residence and found the patio door to her apartment open. This was close to 9:00 PM that night. The family of the complainant initially filed a missing person’s report with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Eventually, the report was routed to HPD.
The following Monday, October 2, 1978, the complainant’s body was found floating in a canal in Anahuac, Texas. The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office recovered Ms. Carter’s remains. An autopsy was completed by the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office. It was determined that the complainant had died from manual strangulation. The complainant also appeared to have suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her murderer. When her identity was determined, the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division picked up the case.
The investigators worked the case, but were never able to develop any specific information in regards to who might be the suspect that abducted and murdered the complainant.
During the course of the investigation, it was learned that another woman had been abducted, sexually and physically assaulted, and abandoned in the same general area as Gayle Cater. The suspect in that incident was a white male, five foot nine inches tall, fair skinned with either a fungus or burn marks on his hands. He had red hair combed back. While talking to the complainant in this incident, she mentioned that he was from Alabama and that he had been in Texas for six years. He also mentioned to this complainant that he fished at the location where she was taken to by this suspect.
This suspect was supposed to have been driving a blue, Ford pickup truck. It was described as having a black interior and a CB radio. When he drove up to the complainant, who was on foot in the same part of town as the complainant was abducted in, the suspect pointed a shotgun at her to get her to comply with his demands.
This suspect was never located.
http://www.houstontx.gov/police/homicide/cold_cases/index.htm
Topic: Gayle Ann Cater W/F 26 | 670 Maxey Road | September 30, 1978 (Read 1599 times)
