UNSOLVED -- The Sharron Prior Murder

The Lost Daughter
by Robert A. Waters

On Saturday evening, March 29, 1975, sixteen-year-old Sharron Prior walked out of her home into a drizzling rain. She planned to head over to Marina’s, a pizza restaurant, five minutes away. Her boyfriend would be there, as well as lots of friends from her high school. As they did on most weekends, they would sip cokes and play music. Sometimes an impromptu dance would break out. They were all friends doing what friends in those days did.

The pretty blonde-haired teen never made it. She disappeared within two blocks of her home. Four days later, her body was discovered in a beekeeper’s field. She’d been raped, beaten, and strangled. Investigators believe she was held captive for three days before being murdered.

It’s been 35 years now, and her killer has never been caught.

Locals call Point St. Charles “The Point.” It’s a blue-collar neighborhood located in Montreal, Canada. Violent crime just doesn’t happen there...

...And yet, an hour before Sharron disappeared, a man armed with a knife attempted to abduct a woman in the same neighborhood. He ran away when some children suddenly appeared. The assailant was never identified.

...And yet, in 1981, 12-year-old Tammy Leaky went missing just blocks from where Sharron was abducted. Later that day, she was found dead. Raped, beaten, and strangled. Her killer has also never been found. For what it’s worth, an FBI profiler claimed that two similar murders in the same area were no doubt the work of the same person or persons.

Yvonne Prior still lives in the Point. And every day she thinks of her lost daughter. She and her children have set up a website in Sharron’s name. It’s one of the better online sites honoring victims that I’ve seen.

According to at least one article published on the website, cops have the killer’s DNA. If so, he has remained beneath the radar--his DNA has not been found in any database.

Some investigators speculate that there were two killers. A footprint of a small individual was found at the scene where Sharron was found. The shirt of a taller man was also found. Neither was ever matched to anyone but they suggest more than one killer.

Could a stranger have taken Sharron? Or was it someone she knew? Was it a neighbor or some anonymous monster living in the area? Is he still alive?

As the decades pass, it seems less likely that Sharron Prior will receive the justice she deserves. Yet there’s always hope. DNA matches from old cases happen every day. Occasionally, someone who has crucial information comes forward to blow the lid off an old unsolved mystery.

After all these years, I pray that Sharron’s family gets justice.

Check out http://www.sharronprior.com for more information about this case.