MURDER
CASE #: 1984-4
Laura Ann Parker
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Lindenhurst, New York
Summary:
Laura Parker was reported missing when she failed to return home from Lindenhurst High School on May 23rd 1984 in Lindenhurst, Suffolk County, New York. Police believed she was a runaway and considered her case as such for months. On September 10th 1984, three young boys discovered Laura’s badly decomposed body wrapped in a rug and dumped in a vacant lot off North Monroe Street. Her cause of death has not been determined although police suspect she was murdered.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
Laura was last seen leaving Lindenhurst High School at 12:10 pm on 05/23/1984 to go to the handball courts a few blocks away. She never returned to school and failed to show up for softball practice after school. Laura had no delinquent history and no prior instances of running away. However, several area youths reported seeing Parker in the local area after she was reported missing. As a result, police considered her case a juvenile runaway situation. For three months, Laura’s parents were left to search for her on their own. On September 10th 1984, three young boys playing in the woods off North Monroe Street were cleaning out a hole in the ground known as “the Hut.” This was a known hangout spot for Lindenhurst youth. While cleaning, they found a rug and when they lifted it they discovered a human skeleton. The remains were removed from the crime scene. Immediately, police suspected the remains were Laura’s and dental records confirmed this four days later. An autopsy was performed but no cause of death could be determined.
Additional Details:
The clothing found with the remains were the same ones that Laura was wearing when she disappeared in May 1984. This leads police to suspect she did not run away and was likely killed on the same day she was last seen. Her remains were found lying face down with one arm behind her back, suggesting forced suffocation as a cause of death but this could never be proven.
Case Last Updated:
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