The Strange Case of the Lady of Cape Cod Dunes (10 photos)

Almost half a century has passed, but a strange case continues to haunt the minds of mystery lovers.





On July 26, 1974, twelve-year-old Leslie Metcalf was walking with her parents and their friends along the dunes at Race Point Beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Their friends' dog was with them. She barked and rushed towards the pine trees. Leslie heard the dog barking and ran to see what was happening. At that moment she discovered what would be called Lady Dune.

Leslie saw that the woman was naked and her clothes were neatly folded under her head. She ran to her parents and immediately told them about what she had seen. Her father reported the grisly discovery to park rangers.

Crime scene



Dunes of Cape Cod

When police arrived at the crime scene, they found the victim lying on a green beach towel. Under his head was a pair of Wrangler jeans and a blue bandana - it looked like it was a makeshift pillow. Bunches of pine needles were stuck in place of the amputated arms. The perpetrator practically decapitated the victim and pulled out several teeth, apparently in an attempt to hide his identity. Marks of blunt force trauma were found on one side of the head, which investigators believe was the cause of death. Tire tracks were found near the victim's body.



Victim

One promising lead was cut short early in the investigation. Pathologists realized that the victim had spent a lot of money on dental treatment at one time. The dental work, classified as New York style, was not cheap and clearly cost thousands of dollars.

The victim's age was somewhere between 20 and 49 years old. However, a more accurate estimate is from 25 to 39. The woman was six-foot-five tall and had an athletic build and reddish-blond hair. She may have been sleeping at the time of the murder: the blanket under her body was untouched. Or she knew the attacker well and did not expect an attack from him.

Investigation



Numerous sketches

Finding the person responsible for this woman's death would be easier if the police could identify her. Detectives sifted through multiple missing person reports in hopes of finding a match. Another line of investigation involved dental professionals. Another team of detectives was hunting for a car that left tire tracks near the scene. While all this was happening, the police once again combed the area around the crime scene. However, they found nothing.

Who is Lady Dune?



Rory Kesinger

An appeal to the public with a sketch of the victim provided several new clues. One Maryland woman contacted detectives about her missing sister. Like the victim, the sister had noticeable hair. Both sisters lost contact with each other when the missing woman moved home to Boston. However, the police never confirmed the match.

Another possibility caught their attention.

A year before this gruesome murder on Cape Cod, a female bank robber named Rory Jean Kesinger escaped from the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. Kesinger fit the general profile of the victim, and authorities believed she might be an unknown person from Provincetown. However, her mother's DNA did not match the victim's, and police quickly removed Rory from the list of possible victims.

Lady Dune and Jaws



That moment from Jaws

One of the most unusual theories is also the most interesting. Stephen King's son, Joe Hill, came up with the idea in 2015. Familiar with the case as a whole, he was re-watching the classic movie Jaws when he noticed something that struck him. One female extra was wearing blue jeans and a bandana. In addition to similar clothing, this young woman bore a certain resemblance to the victim.

Filming on Jaws began in May 1974, just a couple of months before the Cape Cod murders. Provincetown is just a few hours' drive from the filming location. The idea may seem far-fetched, but at least one FBI agent claimed that "stranger ideas have led to cold cases being solved."

Who's the killer?



James Whitey Bulger

Initially, the authorities considered several candidates. The prime suspect was notorious mob boss James Whitey Bulger, who frequented the area and was in the company of a woman resembling the victim. Bulger spent a lot of time at the Crown & Anchor restaurant in Provincetown, conducting drug and gun deals. He and his henchmen usually depersonalized their victims by pulling out their teeth.

One of the women Bulger allegedly strangled was found in a swampy area near the Neponset River in eastern Massachusetts. Like the Lady of Dunes, she was missing teeth. In 2018, a fellow inmate killed Bulger in prison.

Reconstruction of the victim's face



Facial reconstruction

The body of the Lady of the Dunes rests in St. Peter's Cemetery. Except for the head, which was retained by law enforcement for the ongoing criminal investigation. The first facial reconstruction using clay was done in 1970. Then, in 2010, another facial model was created using high-tech scanning.

DNA analysis



Tomb of the Lady of Dunes

Her body was exhumed twice. In 1980, forensic experts took blood samples. However, these data did not provide any new information about her murder. Then, in 2000, she was recovered again for DNA testing to see if she could be a descendant of Rory Kesinger's mother. As already noted, she was not.



Lady of Dune - Ruth Marie Terry

Detectives did not lose hope that one day they would solve this case. In 2019, District Attorney Michael O'Keefe began a new investigation. He used genetic genealogy. Lady Dune's identity was established through a generated DNA profile, which was used to identify distant relatives and ultimately the victim. She turned out to be 38-year-old Ruth Marie Terry. Her husband, Guy Maldavin, a man with a long criminal history and numerous petty crimes and even unproven murders on his record, was officially named her killer on August 28, 2023. But the killer did not receive the punishment he deserved: he died 20 years before this fact was recognized.