Patricia Ann Tucker: 'Granby Girl' identified 45 years after her murder, suspect husband died in prison in 1996
GRANBY, MASSACHUSETTS: Nearly 45 years after 'Granby Girl' was found shot dead in 1978, her gravestone which read 'Unknown' until recently finally has a name which is Patricia Ann Tucker.
Tucker, as per DNA analysis, was determined to be 19 to 27 years old when her remains were found buried under the leaves on a logging road in Granby, Massachusetts. Although the remains have now been identified, the killers remain unknown and the suspected husband who never reported her missing, died in 1996 while serving prison time for rape charges.
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How was Patricia Ann Tucker discovered?
In November 1978, a group of children playing in Granby Ground discovered her body hidden beneath a pile of leaves wedged beneath a log, CBC Boston reported. In the news conference, investigators said that they believed she was killed three months earlier in 1978 and was shot in the temple. However, she couldn't be identified and was buried in Granby Cemetery with a headstone marked as "unknown."
She was identified on January 30, said the Northwestern District Attorney's Office. Advances in DNA technology, according to first assistant district attorney Steven Gagne, allowed them to track down Tucker's half-sister in Maryland, who in turn helped them locate Tucker's son. When she disappeared, he was just five years old.
“While it’s satisfying to finally know who ‘Granby Girl’ actually was, the investigation won’t stop until we identify her killer and bring the family an additional measure of closure and justice,” Steven said in a news release. “This investigation has spanned decades, and will continue until each and every possible lead is explored", he added.
Who was Patricia Ann Tucker?
On July 28, 1950, Tucker was born. Police reported that she later married and went by the names Patricia Heckman, Patricia Dale, and Patricia Coleman before her murder. Tucker and her now suspected husband Gerald Coleman were married when she died. They got married in Middletown, Connecticut in 1977. At the time of her death, they were living in East East Hampton, Connecticut.
The Northwestern District Attorney's Office stated that her husband, Gerald Coleman, died in 1996 at a Massachusetts state prison while serving time for rape, indecent assault and abuse, and assault with a dangerous weapon. Notably, Gerald Coleman never reported her missing.