Kristin O’Connell had been planning her trip to Ovid, New York, for the summer of 1985 as she had been writing to James Vermeersch after they met on holiday in Florida
A 20-year-old woman from Minnesota in the US was found dead in a cornfield, naked with her throat slashed and multiple stab wounds, less than a quarter of a mile from the party she had left for a late-night walk.
In the summer of 1985, Kristin O’Connell ignored her mother’s advice and travelled to Ovid, New York, to visit James Vermeersch, a man she had met on holiday in Florida earlier that year and had been writing to ever since. However, the trip took an unpleasant turn when Kristin discovered that James had a secret girlfriend in New York.
Kristin was excited about her trip to the Finger Lakes region, planning her journey for August 12. Her mother Phyllis told NBC’s Dateline that despite their concerns, she and Kristin’s father decided that their daughter was an adult and deserved independence, according to the Morbid Podcast.
Kristin’s father Michael discovered that James had another girlfriend that August and planned to tell Kristin when she arrived – likely causing his daughter to cut her visit short.
“She was so bright with excitement,” said Phyllis. Unexpectedly, just a day into the trip, Phyllis received a worrying call from a payphone in Ovid, with Kristin saying she would end her trip early and return home the next day, reports the Mirror US.
“Something wasn’t right in her voice,” Phyllis told Dateline.
Tragedy struck just hours later when Kristin, a hotel-motel management student due to start her junior year in September ’85, was found brutally murdered. Forty years on, the authorities are still baffled by the case.
Kristin had been chilling in a trailer on James’ family plot with mates when he popped out for pizza, and she fancied a late-night stroll – typical behaviour back at her place. But alarms rang when James got back and she’d done a vanishing act – her mates launched a search, but it was like she’d disappeared into thin air.
The following afternoon on August 15, 1985, Kristin was officially reported missing to Ovid police by James. Last seen between 11pm and 11:30pm, she stumbled off barefoot without even grabbing her bag.
Their 1:30am search effort turned up nothing.
David Chamberlain, aged just 17 and a friend of James, backed up the tale, dispelling any idea there had been a row. “She just went for a walk and didn’t come back,” he insisted.
Later, about 80 firefighters and police officers teamed up for an extensive manhunt, only to return empty-handed. But the hideous reality hit home on August 16, 1985, as searchers blundered upon a horrid spectacle.
Tragedy struck when Kristin’s body was found in a cornfield, a mere half a mile away from where she was last spotted. The gruesome scene revealed multiple stab wounds and a slit throat, sending shockwaves through the community as neighbours recounted a “horrifying” scream that echoed on the night of her death.
There were no signs of sexual assault, however, investigators speculated that her resistance to such an act might have led to the fatal attack. New York State Police wasted no time in hunting down suspects who could be responsible for the atrocity inflicted upon the young woman.
They paid particular attention to the route alongside the cornfield, known to be frequented by Seneca Army Depot workers and revellers heading to the Golden Buck, a well-liked local haunt not far from James’ trailer.
Witness statements placed Kristin on County Road 139 between 11.50 pm and midnight, lending credibility to James’ version of events. Phyllis guessed Kristin’s disapproval of drug use, possibly prevalent at the party, prompted her early departure.
As the investigation intensified over the summer, police stumbled upon disturbing leads, including a sighting of a blue or green car drawing up to Kristin on the road, with another vehicle loitering close by.
State Police Sergeant Thomas Warren made a public plea for more information, urging others to come forward if they witnessed anything similar involving these mysterious cars.
The mystery surrounding Kristin’s murder deepened with hints that she may have been followed by two men on the night of her death. A pillowcase from a local mental health facility was also discovered near the scene, adding to the enigma.
Yet, the most peculiar twist came when police received an anonymous call days later. The frantic caller claimed that searching the boot of a green Chevy on Main Street in Waterloo would reveal key details about Kristin’s killer.
“I’m getting out of town because I told him not to do it. I told him not to do it. I’m heading out of town,” the caller urgently stated before abruptly ending the call.
Despite no record of such a vehicle, and police deeming the murder a crime of chance, whispers continue to circulate in Ovid and further afield that some locals know more about what happened to Kristin in 1985 but choose to stay quiet. At the time, authorities commented: “Everybody at this party came from well to families in the community they are respected in this area.”
Adding to the intrigue, a social media post pointed out that Donald ‘Nutsy’ Chamberlain, who owned the trailer where Kristin spent her last hours, also owns the Golden Buck restaurant. Notably, he has placed a sign at the establishment warning that discussions about the O’Connell murder will lead to expulsion.
The then-District Attorney Donna Cathy named an individual Gary Harris as a person of interest, following a report by the Democrat and Chronicle in 1995. Cathy pointed out that hairs from an African American had been discovered at the crime scene and stated that at that time, Harris was the only black man in Ovid.
Acting Seneca County Judge W Patrick Falvey called for DNA tests on hair and blood samples gathered in 1985 to bring clarity to the case; yet, these attempts faced setbacks due to a lack of probable cause to connect Harris with the crime.
Harris’ defence counsel contended powerfully: “Being in the community or being black in the community does not meet the requisite proof.”
Officials have stressed that Harris is merely “one of many” individuals being scrutinised in the ongoing investigation. A closer inspection of the forensic details in this murder mystery shows a complex situation.
For instance, despite heavy rains which may have washed away crucial evidence, Kristin’s bloodstained clothing was found carefully positioned next to her body in the cornfield.
However, there’s an overwhelming amount of physical evidence still tied to the harrowing crime – over 318 items ranging from the victim’s fingernails and a blood-stained sweater to the pillowcase and possibly hundreds of strands of hair. Even with these items at their disposal, and technological progress, no new forensic examinations are taking place.
In 2009, a leading Dutch lab offered to analyse evidence from Kristin’s case, but the New York State Health Department turned down the offer due to the facility not being certified in New York.
District Attorney Richard Swineheart expressed his frustration to the Ithaca Journal: “We feel this is our last, best effort to solve this case. We are very frustrated with the bureaucracy of the Department of Health.”
Despite efforts by Kirsten’s mother, Phyllis, and a Minnesota senator, attempts to get the Amsterdam lab certified have hit a bureaucratic wall.
The O’Connell family has started a petition on Change.org to push for DNA testing to help move the investigation forward. In a shocking twist in 2010, the New York Inspector General informed Phyllis that a forensic expert who may have been involved in Kristin’s case had previously been accused of falsifying evidence.
Gerry Veeder was implicated in “dry-labbing”, a deceitful practice where tests are pretended to be conducted to produce lab results without the actual work.
Phyllis lamented the oversight in the system, saying: “In 1985 he did the initial evidence. I don’t know how many items but anything to do with cloth because that’s what he handled. I mean, my God – this is an important job they’re doing there and how could they allow this and not be supervised properly?”.
In a turn of events that’s almost beyond belief, it was revealed last year that an elite cold case team, headed by the former chief of the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, had offered to let a New York State-endorsed forensics lab examine all the physical evidence from Kristin’s unsolved murder case free of charge.
This offer was part of a documentary on the homicide being produced by two-time Oscar winner Bill Guttentag, which could have bypassed the issues encountered over a decade earlier with a Dutch laboratory.
However, the New York State Police turned down the offer and refused to back the project. Troop spokesperson Mark O’Donnell explained that involving external entities in an active murder investigation would breach their policy.
The State Police said: “As in all cases, the State Police does not share critical information, evidence or the techniques used in solving cases. By sharing such information, it could jeopardize the integrity of the investigation.”
Despite what seems to be a wealth of evidence in the murder case of Kristin, the mystery continues to go unsolved. A $10,000 reward was put up in 2010 for details leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator, and as of 2015, the police had pursued over 1,900 leads, all to no avail.
Phyllis continues to call on the police to either use modern forensic techniques to analyse the evidence or close the case, which would then enable her to make a Freedom of Information request to access the files.
Additionally, Phyllis is campaigning for a law change that would mandate all police departments to establish dedicated cold case units, aiming to prevent cases like Kristin’s from being shuffled between detectives over the years.
She explained: “I think there are people up there who know what happened but are afraid to come forward. I believe people are scared. I know I can’t bring her back. But I can’t rest until I find out who did this to her.”
The Mirror has reached out to Seneca County Police for a statement. The investigation into Kristin O’Connell’s murder remains active, and the authorities continue to appeal for information, asking anyone able to assist to get in touch with the New York State Police Major Crimes Unit at (585) 398–4100.