Murder of Katherine Foster
Script error: No such module "AfC submission catcheck".On February 23, 1980 18-year-old Katherine Foster was found deceased in a wooded area on the campus of the University of South Alabama located in Mobile, Alabama, where the was attending university. Foster had been reported missing two days earlier by her parents after her friends alerted them that she was missing. [1] The case remained unsolved for nearly 30 years until evidence emerged in 2002 that identified the perpetrator as Foster's friend and last person confirmed to have seen her. Jamie Kellum (Letson) was arrested in 2008 at a homeless shelter in Jackson, Mississippi, and charged with murder. After deliberating just six hours, the jury convicted Kellum of murder and she was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. According to Mobile Police Deputy Chief James Barber, Katherine's case affected generations of detectives in the city of Mobile and the homicide department constantly reviewed her case.
Katherine Foster's early life and background[edit]
Katherine Foster was born on March 11, 1961 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. At the time of her death, Katherine Foster was a freshman at the University of South Alabama pursuing a bachelor's degree in physical therapy. She was described by those who knew her as a model student and kind-hearted person. A devout Catholic, Katherine was very involved in her church and by all accounts had happy childhood and family who were very involved in her life. She was dating her high school sweetheart, Tom, whom she had known her "whole life". [2]
Disappearance and Investigation[edit]
Early investigation[edit]
On Thursday, February 23, 1980, Foster had made plans with her friends to go shopping off campus, but had allegedly forgotten her purse and told her friend Jamie Kellum that she would meet her back at her car after she retrieved her purse, then they would leave to meet their other two friends to shop. According to Kellum, Foster never returned to the car and Kellum assumed that Foster had decided to spend time with her boyfriend, so she and other two friends went shopping without her. One of the friends who Katherine was supposed to go shopping with, Tish, then noticed that Katherine had not arrived to their 2:00 P.M. class together, which was highly unusual for the responsible student Katherine. The friend then called Katherine's parents to question her whereabouts and the parents then notified the Mobile Police Department that their daughter was missing. Police department policy prevented the parents from filing a missing person's report until Katherine had been missing at least 24 hours. Police interviewed her family and friends, who reported that Katherine was not involved in any high-risk activity that would give them any leads as to why she was murdered.
Discovery of remains[edit]
On Saturday, February 25, 1980, the University police along with the Mobile Police Department and volunteers from the campus came together to do a walk-over of the campus in an attempt to locate her. [2] According to Mobile Police Department detective Wilbur Williams a volunteer involved in the search on the campus of the University of South Alabama discovered Foster's remains at approximately 10:30 A.M. [1] approximately 150 feet away from the paved road running through the campus. [2] Her remains were located in a wooded area approximately 500 yards from her dorm. According to Detective Williams, one of Foster's friends was present when her remains were discovered and positively identified her. [2] Foster had been shot two times in the head with a .22 caliber firearm. [1]
Autopsy results[edit]
Most puzzling to detectives was her pristine appearance, excluding the two bullet holes in her head and blood underneath her hair. [3] Investigators stated that her clothing, hair, and makeup were all neat and clean and there was no bruising on her body or any indication that a sexual assault had occurred. [3]
Dr. Leroy Riddick was the lead medical examiner involved in the case, with Dr. Gary Cumberland assisting. [2] One of the gunshot wounds examined on Katherine's head is considered to be an indeterminate-range gunshot wound, while the other was a close-range gunshot wound. This pointed to an execution style killing, showing that the assailant had shot her first from a distance, then inflicted the second shot as very close range to ensure that she was deceased. Toxicology reports run on Katherine's body were negative, indicating that she was not under the influence of any illegal substances at the time of her death. At the time, the medical examiner estimated that Katherine had been killed between 8-20 hours prior to the discovery of her body by measuring her degree of rigor mortis, insect activity, and body temperature. The time of death evaluation lead the medical examiner to determine that she was murdered sometime between Friday morning, February 24, to Saturday morning, the day they discovered her remains. The medical examiner also discovered that Katherine was still alive after second gunshot due to swelling of her brain, indicating that blood was still pumping throughout her body after the first shot struck her.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Murder of Katherine Foster". It's Crime O Clock Somewhere. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Interview given on Investigation Discovery program called "Secrets on Campus", Season 1 Episode 18, "Killer On Campus"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Montaldo, Charles. "The Tragic 1980 Murder of College Student Katherine Foster". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
This article "Murder of Katherine Foster" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Murder of Katherine Foster. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
