Who Killed Kerry Patterson-Final Episode

When we started this story, like so many others, we don’t know how they will end. This one rekindled an old acquaintance, who is now a friend, it introduced me to Bob Taft, who I know now, will be a long time friend and created an even closer relationship with Kristi, an old friend. So, if all this has done is get Kerry’s story out there and help people remember her then we’ve done what we set out to do, what we didn’t plan on was Kerry bringing us all together, I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, we were all brought to this one place for a reason, if that reason is friendship, I myself, am good with that, if its to tell  more stories like Kerry’s I’m good with that, ultimately we are all  here for the  journey, no matter where that leads us…and Im good with that too.

Thanks Kerry.

Crystal sent me an email of her final thoughts, that email is here in its entirety:

As you have heard in this Podcast so skillfully assembled by Cathie Curtis, on June 14, 1980 our family moved to Fullerton from Cerritos, mainly because we wanted our then15 year old daughter Kerry to go to Sunny Hills High School.

The new neighborhood was bustling with trades people laying concrete patios, putting in sod, doing landscaping and brick walkways. We were one of the last homes sold so most owners were well on their way to finishing up their exteriors and front yard landscaping.

On June 26 Kerry and Michelle were going to take the beach bus to Huntington Beach for the first time with their new boogie boards. At the last minute we were informed that a piece of furniture we ordered was going to be delivered that day, so I had to ask the girls to stay home and wait for the delivery.

In the early afternoon Kerry called an old friend who had moved to Fullerton a year before and made plans to meet up with him and a couple of his friends at the Ice Cream Castle about a mile from our new home. Kerry told Michelle she would bring her back a candy bar, and she took off on foot to walk the short distance to the strip mall where the ice cream store was.

That was the last time anyone in our family saw Kerry.

I have spent the last 40 years trying to sort out what happened to my daughter. To begin with, the Fullerton Police Department mishandled Kerry’s case from the beginning. According the “statistics” at the time I was told, “girls between the ages of 12-17 who go missing are 99% of the time runaways. Unfortunately for Kerry her age put her in that category, and no amount of exculpatory evidence like $20 sitting on her dresser, a suitcase mostly packed for a weekend trip in her room, and close friends and family saying she would never run away, made any difference to the Fullerton Police Department. Kerry falling into their “statistic” made it easy for them to put forth minimal effort to help us find my child. As a result, critical evidence and leads were overlooked. Proper notes and documentation were non-existent so trying to piece together what happened at the time made it nearly impossible for follow up efforts throughout the years.

After Kerry’s remains were found in an unincorporated area of Brea, the case was transferred to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Most of the detectives I dealt with there were compassionate and helpful, and were also appalled at the lack of information provided by Fullerton. I continued to push forward for leads. I met with movie directors who talked about making a movie of her disappearance, journalists who wrote articles in local papers about her murder. I met with people like you Cathie who so graciously have taken their time to create this unbelievable Podcast about Kerry’s murder. I sent letters to John Walsh and Mark Fuhrman begging them to help me, all to no avail. I contacted the TV Show Cold Justice but due to another pending case the Orange County Sheriff’s Department was working on that may or may not have involved Kerry, they would not cooperate with the show.

Things took a positive turn when Michelle met Bob Taft a Cold Case Detective with the Orange County Sheriff’s department. He took a true interest in our case and spent months working on leads, tracking down and talking to people who claimed to have information. To this day he is still trying to help us find answers.

The ups and downs, the hopes and dashed hopes, the tears, the “what ifs” the hours I have spent on the phone with detectives, the text messages with countless people who are also trying to help, it all gets to be too much at times. There are times when I say I can’t do this anymore. I justify that by saying that Kerry wouldn’t want me to carry this burden for so long. She would want me to be at peace. So, for a fleeting moment I sigh and say that’s it, I am going to move on and not dwell on this anymore. Then something will happen, someone will say something, and the emotions will flood back and of course I have to keep searching, asking, praying that someone somewhere will read, hear, see something about her that sparks a thought in them about that day back in 1980 when my beautiful 15 year old daughter walked down to get ice cream and never made it home.

If you remember anything about that time period, if you lived near Parks Road and Bastanchury or Rosecrans, if you have a friend or relative who worked in the trades, like a brick mason, or landscaper, or anyone who would have been working in a new housing project during that time period and may have seen her leave the house that day please reach out to Bob Taft or me, or Cathie, or Michelle. We will be forever grateful for any information that could help lead us to who killed my daughter. Thank you.

 

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Keith Sharon, Reporter OC Register and Podcaster @CrimeBeatPodcast

 you can listen to his podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast

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