Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938-1940 and the Panic at Penn State

 As the Great Depression hit, Penn State College was cash-strapped and dilapidated. Cuts to athletic scholarships left the football program a shambles and the school a last resort for many students. In 1937, underfunded state police, fighting a losing battle against striking miners and steel workers in Johnstown, called in the National Guard.

There were not enough police to cover the state, and it showed. Then someone started killing young women in the area. Between November 1938 and May 1940, Rachel Taylor, Margaret Martin and Faye Gates were abducted and sexually assaulted, their bodies dumped within 50 miles of the college.

As the school grew into Pennsylvania State University and the Nittany Lions became a world-class team, two demoralized police agencies were merged, forming the precursor of the Pennsylvania State Police. Gates's murderer was captured and convicted. The killer(s) of Taylor and Martin, however, have gone unidentified to this day.

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Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938-1940 and the Panic at Penn State

 As the Great Depression hit, Penn State College was cash-strapped and dilapidated. Cuts to athletic scholarships left the football program a shambles and the school a last resort for many students. In 1937, underfunded state police, fighting a losing battle against striking miners and steel workers in Johnstown, called in the National Guard.

There were not enough police to cover the state, and it showed. Then someone started killing young women in the area. Between November 1938 and May 1940, Rachel Taylor, Margaret Martin and Faye Gates were abducted and sexually assaulted, their bodies dumped within 50 miles of the college.

As the school grew into Pennsylvania State University and the Nittany Lions became a world-class team, two demoralized police agencies were merged, forming the precursor of the Pennsylvania State Police. Gates's murderer was captured and convicted. The killer(s) of Taylor and Martin, however, have gone unidentified to this day.

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Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938-1940 and the Panic at Penn State

Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938-1940 and the Panic at Penn State

by Derek J. Sherwood
Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938-1940 and the Panic at Penn State

Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938-1940 and the Panic at Penn State

by Derek J. Sherwood

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Overview

 As the Great Depression hit, Penn State College was cash-strapped and dilapidated. Cuts to athletic scholarships left the football program a shambles and the school a last resort for many students. In 1937, underfunded state police, fighting a losing battle against striking miners and steel workers in Johnstown, called in the National Guard.

There were not enough police to cover the state, and it showed. Then someone started killing young women in the area. Between November 1938 and May 1940, Rachel Taylor, Margaret Martin and Faye Gates were abducted and sexually assaulted, their bodies dumped within 50 miles of the college.

As the school grew into Pennsylvania State University and the Nittany Lions became a world-class team, two demoralized police agencies were merged, forming the precursor of the Pennsylvania State Police. Gates's murderer was captured and convicted. The killer(s) of Taylor and Martin, however, have gone unidentified to this day.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781476677996
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date: 07/11/2019
Pages: 311
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Derek J. Sherwood, author of two previous books on the alleged crimes of Dr. Richard Charles Haefner, lives in Windsor, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
 1. Pinchot Progressivism and a Little New Deal
 2. What a Wonderful World…
 3. “Prexy” Hetzel, the NCAA and the Purist Policy
 4. Mamie
 5. A Match Made in the Coal Fields
 6. “The Last Losers”
 7. Meet Me at Kingston Corners
 8. The Hig Turns the Tide
 9. Red-Eye Greyhound from Jersey
10. The Public Information Office Stumbles, the Motor Police Scramble
11. A Likely Suspect
12. Rumblings from Old Main
13. The ­Bogey-Bo
14. Hetzel Meets Adams
15. The Secret of Spook Hollow Road
16. Seniors Depart and a New Lion Is Born
17. Another Sex Attacker?
18. …And a Long Shot
19. Another Sex Maniac Unmasked
20. The Best Is Yet to Come
21. “Not Dave Alston!”
22. The War Years
23. We Are Penn State
24. The (Almost) Perfect Season
25. The Road to Nowhere
Epilogue
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
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