Police Ask For Help In 26-Year-Old Murder Case

Saturday, June 9th 2007, 8:46 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa's cold case homicide squad is asking for help in a 1981 murder that still haunts them to this day. Patricia Palmer was the victim, a newlywed who put an ad in the paper to sell her wedding dress. Police say the man who showed up to look at it strangled her to death.

Patricia Palmer and her husband of six months were saving money to buy a house, so she decided to sell her wedding dress. A man called to look at it and she met him at her mom's house near 41st and Sandusky on November 15th, 1981. That was her last day alive.

She was strangled then placed in bathtub full of water where she essentially drowned. Crime scene photos show how hard Palmer fought. She and the attacker struggled all the way down the hallway, leaving a trail of blood smudges on the walls and edge of the bathtub.

Construction workers who saw a man on Palmerâ€™s porch, helped create a composite sketch. Police are now using technology to update the sketch.

"By the utilization of computer age progression, we have created a new sketch that would show what he would be now," said Tulsa Police Officer Scott Walton.

Police say the suspect in this class exhibits classic serial killer behaviors and they want to find him once and for all. They welcome any information.

"If that information is weak or doesn't pan out, no one will be harmed, we just need to hear from anybody who knows of this," Officer Walton said.

The semen from the scene was destroyed because at that time, samples were kept in test tubes. However, police do have DNA from gum found in the bathtub that could still help solve this case.

Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers at 596-COPS.

No one will know your name and if your tip leads to an arrest, the Citizens Crime Commission will give you a $1,000 cash reward.

Watch the video: Police Still Searching For 1981 Homicide Suspect