June 13, 1977. Ohio County, West Virginia. Roberta Elam, a 26-year old postulant known as “Sister Robin” who is planning to become a nun, is seen living the motherhouse of the Mount St. Joseph convent. Hours later, Sister Robin’s body is found on top of a nearby hill in a secluded mediation area and she has been raped and strangled to death. There is immediate speculation that the crime might be connected to the murders of four other young women, which took place in neighbouring Washington County during the prece...
June 13, 1977. Ohio County, West Virginia. Roberta Elam, a 26-year old postulant known as “Sister Robin” who is planning to become a nun, is seen living the motherhouse of the Mount St. Joseph convent. Hours later, Sister Robin’s body is found on top of a nearby hill in a secluded mediation area and she has been raped and strangled to death. There is immediate speculation that the crime might be connected to the murders of four other young women, which took place in neighbouring Washington County during the preceding months. However, in recent years, investigators have started looking at a potential suspect who supposedly confessed to Sister Robin’s murder. On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we cover the unsolved death of Sister Roberta Elam and explore its potential connection to a number of other homicides which took place during that time period.
If you have any information about the murder of Sister Roberta Elam, please contact the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office at (304) 234-3680. If you have information about any of the other cold cases mentioned on this episode, please contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at (740) 373-2833.
Additional Reading:
https://www.oxygen.com/the-dna-of-murder-with-paul-holes/crime-news/paul-holes-roberta-elam-nun-murder
https://www.post-gazette.com/uncategorized/2005/10/16/Case-reopened-in-1977-killing-of-postulant-nun/stories/200510160251
“Who Killed…? Pittsburgh, Pa.” by Jack Swint
“Mysterious WV” Youtube Episode (Apr. 28, 2017)
http://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_washington/20030928wacover0928p1.asp
http://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_washington/20031005wacover1005p2.asp
https://archive.triblive.com/local/local-news/two-charged-in-1977-murder-of-charlerois-mary-irene-gency/
https://www.post-gazette.com/local/washington/2011/10/26/Decades-later-pregnant-teen-s-killer-convicted/stories/201110260241
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“The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.
The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.
All music is composed by Vince Nitro.
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