The Pattee Library Murder: 45-Year Mystery

The Pattee stacks as I remember them.

As Halloween approaches we will be inundated by many "ghost stories" and murder mysteries in the effort to sell cheesy lawn decorations and costumes.  But in reality, Penn State has had its own real murder mystery which has remained unsolved for 45 years.

I was once taken to the site of the murder in the stacks of Pattee Library.  I have no way of knowing if it was really the place where Betsy Aardsma was murdered, but it was still creepy enough.  The youngsters today have the benefit of hours-on-end of CSI programs to refer to when analyzing such events.  But the cops of the day were unprepared for the whole thing and thoroughly bungled the entire investigation. A murderer escaped justice entirely.

There have been several books on the subject and a new one purports to reveal the killer once and for all. And here's a trailer for the full-length feature film that debuted in State College this past Winter.





And another Penn State Murder from 1996 on the HUB Lawn...