“A crime that took place in 1974” .. The identity of a body is determined 48 years after its discovery

US cops finally identify a horrific murder victim - nearly five decades after her dead body was discovered on the beach with her hands cut off.

The body of Ruth Mary Terry was found on the sands of a beach by a little girl walking her dog in Princetown on July 26, 1974.

Ruth was 37 years old when she was fatally blown to the head before her killer assaulted her and attempted to behead her.

Since then, the identity of the body has remained unknown and has been considered the longest-running unidentified murder victim in Massachusetts.

Investigators recently announced that they estimated that the gruesome murder may have occurred weeks before her body was found, as there was no sign of conflict near or on top of the body.

At the time, FBI officials officially nicknamed her "The Lady of the Dunes" due to the mystery of her identity, on her 86th birthday on October 31.

Chief Constable Joseph Bonavolonta, a special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston division, told the Boston Globe: "There is undoubtedly a major interruption in the investigation, and he hopes that finally discovering her identity will lead to some leads in identifying the killer."

"It was a brutal death, and for the past 48 years, detectives with the Massachusetts State Police and Provincetown Police Department have worked tirelessly to identify her through various means.

We also realize that while we have identified Ruth as the victim of this horrific murder it does not alleviate her family's pain.

Nothing can.

But we hope he answers some questions as we continue to search for her killer.”

Ruth, who was married with a child, was officially identified after a combination of DNA analysis and research in historical records.

 Unfortunately, no arrests were made at any time during the investigation.

District Attorney Michael O'Keeffe later admitted that the vicious killer might have died without being brought to justice.

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