The murder of Betsy Aardsma is an American murder case dating from November 1969, in which a 22-year-old graduate student was murdered by a single stab wound inside the Pattee Library at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Though Aardsma's murder remains officially unsolved, local investigative journalists and two independent authors have published testimony and reports which strongly indicate Penn State geology professor Richard Haefner may have been responsible for her death, which has been described by one author as Pennsylvania's most infamous unsolved murder.
The evidence indicating Haefner's guilt of Aardsma's murder is circumstantial. Haefner was never charged with her murder. He died in 2002.
Early life Elizabeth Ruth "Betsy" AardsmaWho Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 8 was the second of four children. She was born in Holland, Michigan, to Esther and Richard Aardsma, and raised in a middle-class, religious and conservative household on West 37th Street. Aardsma's father was a sales tax auditor for the Michigan State Treasurer, while her mother was a housewife.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 9
As a child, Aardsma displayed a flair for art and poetry. By adolescence, she had developed somewhat liberal ideals and displayed a concern for the underprivileged. Aardsma attended Holland High School and performed well academically, graduating with honors in 1965.
Further education Shortly after graduating from high school, Aardsma enrolled in Hope College in the fall of 1965 with aspirations to become a physician.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 8 Her roommate, Linda DenBesten, later recollected Aardsma as an intelligent and fascinating individual who exhibited feminist traits.
In the fall of 1967, Aardsma enrolled at the University of Michigan, studying art and English and sharing an apartment with three other female students. By her senior year, she had begun dating a medical student named David Wright, who by all accounts was her first serious boyfriend. She graduated from this institution with honors in the summer of 1969.
Pennsylvania State University Upon graduation from the University of Michigan, Aardsma initially intended to join the Peace Corps and travel to Africa, although she opted to enroll at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) when she discovered that Wright, her boyfriend, intended to study there and that he could not guarantee he would remain loyal to her if she traveled abroad for any significant length of time.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 11
Aardsma enrolled at Penn State in early October 1969. She resided on campus in Atherton Hall, and shared her residence with a student named Sharon Brandt, who would later recall that Aardsma seldom pursued extracurricular activities and spent much of her free time either studying or—on weekends—traveling to Penn State Hershey to be in the company of Wright.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 17
By Thanksgiving, Aardsma is known to have exhibited symptoms of stress due to the fact she had fallen behind on an English assignment. She spent the day prior to Thanksgiving in the company of her boyfriend, his roommates and their girlfriends before returning to her dormitory the following day, with intentions to meet her professors for advice on a research paper she needed to complete for her assignment. Wright drove Aardsma to a nearby bus stop in Harrisburg on the afternoon of November 27.
At the time of her death, Aardsma had been in a relationship with Wright for approximately one year, and the two had discussed plans to become engaged by Christmas.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 13 She had been a student at Penn State for just eight weeks when she was murdered.
November 28, 1969
On the afternoon of November 28, 1969, Aardsma and Brandt left their residence to visit Penn State's Pattee Library to obtain research material for her English paper. En route, the two parted company, having formed plans to reconvene later that afternoon to watch either Easy Rider or Take the Money and Run at a movie theater that evening. At approximately 4 p.m., Aardsma spoke with one of her professors, Nicholas Joukovsky, to whom she stated her intentions to visit the Stack Building. Shortly thereafter, she encountered two friends, Linda Marsa and Robert Steinberg, with whom she briefly conversed before entering the library. She then placed her purse, jacket, and a book inside a carrel assigned to her before walking toward a card catalog. Having found the reference she sought, Aardsma walked down a flight of stairs into the Level 2 core stacks at approximately 4:30 p.m.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime pp. 20;24
The final potential sightings of Aardsma in the Level 2 core stacks occurred minutes after 4:30 p.m., when an assistant supervisor named Dean Brungart observed a girl in a red dress standing alone in an aisle, with two young men talking quietly among themselves in a nearby aisle closer to the west end of the core. Approximately ten minutes later, another witness, Richard Allen, overheard a conversation between a male and a female in the general direction of where Aardsma stood as he operated a photocopier. Although Allen could not hear what the two spoke, he informed police nothing sounded untoward. Moments later, Allen heard a metallic crashing noise before a young man whom he described as "looking like a student" ran "barrelling" past him.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 28
Murder
At some point between 4:45 and 4:55 p.m., Aardsma was stabbed a single time through the left breast with a knife while standing between rows 50 and 51 in the dimly lit Stack Building of the Pattee Library. This wound severed her pulmonary artery and pierced the right ventricle of her heart. Following the stabbing, Aardsma slumped to the ground close to the end of the aisle, pulling several books off adjacent shelves as she fell onto her back. Two students—Joao Uafinda and Marilee Erdley—then observed a man running from the direction of the commotion, concealing his right hand, exclaiming, "That girl needs help!" Erdley described this man as being dressed in khaki washable slacks, a tie, and a sports jacket. He had well-kept brown hair, was approximately in height, about 185 lbs, and may have been wearing glasses. This individual led Uafinda and Erdley into the Core, where he pointed toward the prone body of Aardsma lying between scattered books and metal shelves which had also been knocked loose. As Erdley began to check for signs of a pulse, Uafinda observed this individual leaving the library; he discreetly followed the man upstairs, where the individual ran out of the library. Uafinda attempted to chase this man but was outpaced. This individual was last seen running in the direction of the Recreation Hall.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime pp. 31-32
Subsequent police appeals for the man or men who spoke these words to Uafinda and Erdley before fleeing from the library to come forward were unsuccessful, and the individual has never been identified.
Medical efforts As Uafinda attempted to pursue the individual fleeing the library, Erdley attempted to render first aid to Aardsma, including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and was soon joined by a group of bystanders, including a librarian. A call was placed to the campus hospital, the Ritenour Health Center, at 5:01 p.m., with responders initially informed a "girl had fainted" in the Pattee Library. Two student paramedics were dispatched to the scene, arriving minutes later. Aardsma was quickly placed on a gurney and removed from the library via a service elevator, to be taken to the Health Center, as the paramedics continued to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) upon her. The summoned ambulance transported Aardsma to the Health Center.
Although Aardsma was wearing a white turtleneck sweater at the time she was stabbed, the wound produced only a small amount of visible blood. However, Aardsma was also wearing a red sleeveless dress over this sweater at the time of her murder, and the clothing she wore had been of thick material in the November climate, thus meaning the single knife tear within her clothing was not immediately obvious. She had also urinated where she fell. As result of these facts, the non-medical individuals who discovered her body—plus the student first responders summoned to the scene in response to reports of a female student having "fainted" in the library—initially believed that she had indeed either fainted, experienced a seizure, or some other non-critical medical ailment.
Very shortly after Aardsma was transported to the Health Center, a more senior medical individual observed blood seeping through her clothing as the two student paramedics continued to perform CPR and immediately ordered the two to stop before locating the single stab wound. Aardsma was pronounced dead by a physician at 5:50 p.m.
Autopsy Aardsma's autopsy was conducted by Dr. Thomas Magnani at Bellefonte Hospital in Bellefonte at 11 p.m. on November 28, concluding at 4 a.m. the following morning. Magnani concluded Aardsma had been killed by a single stab wound which had penetrated her breastbone, piercing her heart and severing her pulmonary artery, causing extensive hemorrhaging into her chest cavity. Death had occurred within five minutes, and Aardsma would have been unable to scream for help as she essentially drowned in her own blood. Furthermore, she had not been subjected to any form of sexual assault.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 44
Signs of petechial hemorrhaging were also discovered on Aardsma's chest, and minor signs of bruising and abrasions noted around one ear had likely been caused as she fell to the ground. Magnani further opined his belief Aardsma's murderer had intentionally aimed for her heart when he had stabbed her while facing her, and that her assailant was a right-handed individual.
Investigation Pennsylvania State Police assigned approximately thirty-five troopers to investigate Aardsma's murder. These troopers were assigned usage of the Boucke Building as a temporary command center as they conducted inquiries, and hundreds of students were interviewed in the weeks following her death. The entire campus was unsuccessfully searched in an effort to locate the murder weapon, and a $25,000 (the equivalent of approximately $220,800 ) reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of Aardsma's killer. Investigators would soon discover up to 400 individuals would typically enter or exit the Pattee Library between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. on a Friday, although on the date in question, only about 90 had done so. None of those interviewed were considered viable suspects.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 60
Two composite sketches of the individual Uafinda and Erdley had seen running from the direction of Aardsma's stabbing were created—one with the assistance of Uafinda and a library desk clerk; one with Erdley—although only Erdley's identikit image was released to the media.Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime p. 179