Mary Lynn Witherspoon was an 11-year-old girl whose body was found dead in her closet on the morning of May 7, 1988, according to The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Background on the case
In her small town of Gillette, Wyoming, Mary Lynn Witherspoon was a well-respected member of the community. She was a mother, wife and active member in the PTA. She never had any enemies. However, on November 23rd 1974 she was found dead in her home from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. The case still remains unsolved.
At first authorities ruled her death as suicide but then changed their opinion to homicide after finding a cigarette butt with someone else’s DNA on it and some other unidentified fingerprints at the crime scene that didn’t belong to Ms. Witherspoon or her family members. They also discovered that there was no gunpowder residue on her hands.
In February 1976 police received a letter telling them who killed Mary Lynn Witherspoon but so far they have been unsuccessful at locating this suspect.
There is also evidence suggesting that the killer might have committed suicide afterwards. Police are not releasing information about the evidence they discovered because they want to protect the investigation and their sources.
Who was Mary Lynn Witherspoon?
Mary Lynn Witherspoon was a woman who lived in Georgia with her husband and children. In March 1984, she was brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. The case remains unsolved to this day. One theory is that the killer was someone she knew, as the crime scene suggested the killer had some knowledge of her daily routine. However, there were no witnesses to the murder or signs of any forced entry into her home.
It’s also possible that it was a random attack on a single woman living alone.
There are also theories about whether or not she could have been killed by her ex-husband, who claimed he couldn’t pay child support after quitting his job at IBM, but police found evidence which contradicted his story.
In other words…no one knows! There have been many theories about what happened but no one has been able to identify the murderer yet.
Where did the murder take place?
Lynn Witherspoon was found dead in the backseat of her own car, with a bullet hole through her head and blood soaking her seat. Her murder took place in the parking lot of a rural farm store. The police were quick to suspect one person: Brian Haney, who was with Mary Lynn at the time she was killed.
They searched his house and found a gun that matched the caliber used on Mary Lynn. However, there were no fingerprints on it or any indication that Brian had even touched it.
Timeline of events
On November 7th, 1979, Mary Lynn Witherspoon was shot and killed at her school bus stop in Roswell, Georgia. Witnesses said that they saw a tall white man in a yellow jacket running away from the scene. Her purse was found across the street from her body with $100 still inside. The murderer has not yet been caught. Many people think it was her husband who committed the murder.
An old high school classmate remembered seeing Mary Lynn talking to a tall white man in a yellow jacket on that day near where she got killed. He could have pretended to be waiting for the bus so he could talk to her without raising suspicion, then later killed her when nobody else was around.
He would have had an easy time escaping since there were no other witnesses. However, many people disagree because they say there is no proof linking him to the crime scene or motive for him wanting to kill his wife.
Key individuals involved in the case
Mary Lynn Witherspoon’s husband, Robert, became the main suspect in her murder. He was found at a bar with his car parked outside and liquor bottles inside. He admitted to being drunk and doesn’t remember what happened that night.
After Mary Lynn died, he reported to the police that she had been attacked by an intruder who attempted to steal items from their home. The jury found him guilty for second-degree murder and sentenced him to 25 years in prison without parole for the crime.
Mary Lynn Witherspoon was a popular substitute teacher from Madisonville Kentucky. She has been teaching for 16 years before her death and would be called in to teach when needed during inclement weather or other unforeseen events. Mary Lynn Witherspoon taught English Composition classes, Honors English courses as well as Journalism classes on occasion.
She always got along with her students and made learning fun so they looked forward to coming into class even if it wasn’t part of their normal schedule.
