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This is a story of a person I never met, but she has haunted my memory for years. I was fourteen years old, naïve, sheltered, perhaps egocentric. Naïve, having or showing a lack of experience, judgement, or information. Unaware of the world. Isolated from the news. Lock in a dogmatic religion. But, intrigued by Case # 64– 2419 / 00- 7156.
A story yet to be written.
Following are pieces of information beyond family and/or acquaintances. The primary source: the Star-Gazette, Elmira, New York.
May 14, 1963
…Cooking: Mary Katherine Rupp, Yvonne Swan, Ronald Ford, Betty Ann Hurley, Mary Theresa Simpson, Nan Johnson, Herbert Thomas, Mary Davis.
July 24, 1962
Automobile Strikes Girl
Mary Theresa Simpson, 11, of 158 Harriet St. was examined at St. Joseph’s Hospital an discharged after being struck by a car on Madison Ave. near E. Church St. Monday afternoon about 5:15.
Donald Fatula, 23, of 144 College Ave. told police he was driving north on Madison Ave. and did not see the girl crossing through traffic until she was in front of his car.
The front bumper of the car struck the girl, knocking her to the pavement. She complained of an abrasion of the left ankle.
Fatula said the accident occurred about 100 feet north of Church St. The motorist took the girl to her home and then to the hospital.
June 19, 1957
NH Nursery Graduation Tomorrow
The Neighborhood House nursery school, which has been operating at Jones Court, will have its graduation Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Court Unit 4 basement. Graduating will be:
…Mary Theresa Simpson, …
July 23, 1955
St. Joseph’s:
Mary Theresa Simpson, 4 of 751 E. Second St., abrasion of right knee, fell down.
SATURDAY, March 21, 1964
Marise Chiverella was buried shortly before noon in Hazleton.
A massive search by 55 men under Commandeer John R. Ellison of the Elmira Unit of the Chemung County Civil Defense Auxiliary Police combed the Combs Hill Road area from 1:25 to 5:30 p.m. Several articles, which could or could not be evidence, were turned over to city police. The rocks that covered the body were removed and taken headquarters.
Dist. Atty. McCabe conducted another meeting to review the work of each police agency and to inform all, of the up-to-date investigation.
Saturday night no one had been arrested for the murder of either Marise Chiverella or Mary Theresa Simpson.
Source: Star-Gazette - Sun, March 22, 1964 - page 15 - March 22, 1964 (Elmira, New York.)
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There are many more questions to be considered as well as intriguing tidbits to be investigated.
FRIDAY, March 20, 1964
Sixteen police from four agencies at 10:10 a,m, resumed a search of the area where the body was found.
Two small white buttons with the thread still attached were found at about 11:00 a.m. at almost the exact spot where the body was discovered.
It was not established whether the matched buttons had been torn from the girl’s blouse. The buttons and other objects found were to be sent to the New York State Police scientific lab in Albany by Monday morning.
Police Chief Eugene F. Golden said he is thoroughly convinced Mary was murdered near the spot where she was found. He would not elaborate.
Many men, most of them relatives of Mary, were questioned at police headquarters throughout the morning.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Dr. M. Eugene Pittman. Chemung County medical examiner issued a verdict of homicide. He said the girl died of strangulation and/or choking. To his knowledge, Dr. Pittman said, she had not been sexually molested.
Dr. Pittman said a complete report on the autopsy performed by himself and Dr. William Kelly, Arnot-Ogden Hospital pathologist, would not be ready for several days.
McCabe said there were “no hot suspects.” He said that unless there were a real major break in the case, everyone would just have to keep working along.
He held a meeting in the afternoon with police officers from agencies involved in the investigation to discuss the information obtained to that point.
Mrs. Rose T. Simpson of 320 Dewitt Ave., Mary’s mother, said Friday night her daughter was active but a shy girl who wouldn’t have gotten into a car unless she knew the person well or was grabbed. She said last saw Mary Sunday afternoon.
Source: Star-Gazette - Sun, March 22, 1964 - page 15 - March 22, 1964 (Elmira, New York.)
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THURSDAY, March 19, 1964
The body of Mary Theresa Simpson was found hidden in a wooded area off the Combs Hill Road southwest of the city at about 4:30 p.m. It was fully clothed, covered with twigs, branches and dirt and weighted with four heavy stones. Her mouth was stuffed with twigs and dirt.
Joseph M. Gessi of Pinehurst St., Golden Glow Heights, and his two sons, Larry, 11, and Joseph, 8, found the body about a quarter-mile east of the Combs Hill Road near an old Indian trail leading towards Roricks Glen.
It had been 94 hours since Mary disappeared.
There was no sign of blood on the body. Her blouse was open but the rest of her clothing was not disarranged. The left side of her face was distorted. Police said this may have been caused by the heavy rock, 14 by 13 by 6 inches, that was on her face.
The body was taken to Arnot-Ogden Hospital by Erway ambulance.
Positive identification was made by her father.
Dist. Atty. Paul H. McCabe said the case definitely was a homicide.
McCabe said at 10:50 p.m., no one is under arrest and he had no suspects.
Chief Golden said he did not have any opinion at the moment, that he would have to wait for the results of the autopsy when asked whether police think any of circumstances surrounding Mary’s death are at all similar to those in the death of Clifford Nevans, who was found frozen Feb. 12 on a Chemung River Bank near Dunn Field.
Source: Star-Gazette - Sun, March 22, 1964 - page 15 - March 22, 1964 (Elmira, New York.)
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Why did it take two days for the police to get fully engaged in the search? It seems, “Youngsters - like Mary Theresa - from broken families often run away. Lonely girls frequently stop overnight with friends or relatives and show up at home in a day or two, quite oblivious of the anxiety they have caused.”
As we progress, we will discover other discrepancies between various reports, i.e. was she reported missing at 10:30 or 10:00.
WEDNESDAY, March 18, 1964
A special detail of city police began an intensive search of vacant buildings, abandoned homes, junk yards, excavations, and used car lots in the city.
The banks along Newtown Creek and the Chemung River were also searched.
Area police departments in both New York and Pennsylvania were asked to watch for the girl. Police asked that any person who may have seen Mary since her disappearance or had any knowledge concerning her whereabouts contact them immediately.
Elmira Police Capt. James Smith said the department was not discounting the possibility of foul play in the girl’s disappearance.
Raped and strangled in an abandoned strop mine near Hazelton, Marise Chiverella, 9 had been missing since she left at about 8 a.m. to walk six blocks to school. An autopsy showed she died of asphyxiation due to strangulation and that she had been brutally assaulted before she died.
Hazelton is about a four-hour drive from Elmira.
Source: Star-Gazette - Sun, March 22, 1964 - page 15 - March 22, 1964 (Elmira, New York.
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More about Marise Chiverella in the near future. For now, she was murdered four days after Mary, March 18, 1964. Her murder was solved 57 years later April 22, 2022.
TUESDAY, March 17, 1964
No new information was received by police as the search continued.
Source: Star-Gazette - Sun, March 22, 1964 - page 15 - March 22, 1964 (Elmira, New York)
MONDAY, March 16, 1964
Several empty houses in the city were searched by police, who also checked several of Mary's friends homes.
No trace of her was found.
Source: Star-Gazette - Sun, March 22, 1964 - page 15 - March 22, 1964 (Elmira, New York)
Time line of documented events:
SUNDAY, March 15, 1964
Mary Theresa Simpson left her home at 410 N. Main St. About 3 p.m. She told her father, Ellsworth Simpson, she was going to visit a cousin and would be home by 6 p.m. She did not visit the cousin, but instead went to the home of her mother, Mrs. Rose T. Simpson, at 320 Dewitt Ave.
After she left her mother’s home she went to play with a cousin, Donna Sawyer, 13, of 182 Cieri St. She played there until shortly after 6 p.m. and started to walk home accompanied by her aunt Mrs. Alice Bauman, of 913 John St., and Mrs. Bauman’s two daughters, Emily, 11, and Sheryl, 8.
At the corner of Market and Harriet St., Mary left, telling Emily she had to go straight home.
At 10:30 p.m. Ellsworth called police headquarters, telling them his daughter had not returned home.
Source: Star-Gazette - Sun, March 22, 1964 - page 15 - March 22, 1964 (Elmira, New York)
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410 N. Main St - Currently a MacDonald's
320 Dewitt Ave - Currently residential is approximately 0.8 miles from home
182 Cieri Street - Could not locate
913 John Street - Currently apartments
Market and Harriet Street - last confirmed sighting
Research:
Ellsworth Simpson - father
Rose T. Simpson - mother
Donna Sawyer age 13 - cousin
Alice Bauman - aunt
Emily age 11
Sheryl age 8
Weather - high 49 degrees/low 28 degrees
Rain, Snow Flurries
Elmira and vicinity: Cloudy, with scattered thundershowers this morning, cloudy in afternoon and a few snow flurries tonight. Monday: Fair, with seasonal temperatures.
Sunset time - 6:14 p.m.
Questions:
Why did Mary lie to her father?
Why did Mary go to her mother’s house?
What is the relationship/status of her parents? Divorced? Separated?
Did Ellsworth (Mr. Simpson) call other family members?
Why did Ellsworth (Mr. Simpson) wait until 10:30 to call the police?
How was she dressed?
What were the interactions with mother, aunt, and cousins?
What: The investigation
Where: Wood area off of Combs Hill Road, southwest of the city, Elmira, New York
When: Sunday, March 15, 1964
Who: Mary Theresa Simpson and an unknown villain “no hot suspect” identified
Why: Theories
How: TBD
Source of information: Police reports, multiple interviews, Star-Gazette, Newspaper.com, bits and pieces of information and speculation.
Speculation: I think that somewhere in an old cigar box, on the top shelf of a relative’s closet or maybe in a damp cellar, in a cardboard box, there exist news clippings or a diary or DNA evidence leading to our suspect.
A story yet to be revealed.
Intrigued because, as I recall, I had never heard of or maybe I just lacked an awareness of someone found murdered in our surrounding community. Small town USA. Certainly not, a female, age 12. I was 14. It was such an anomaly. So much so, related reports made front page news for days, even updated monthly, with rewards offered and suspects hunted across the country. Every once in a while, I’ll pull out collected research, review, and consider creating a story. March 15, 1964, when first reported missing, to the month March 15, 2024, is 60 years. Maybe someone will read what I have collected, recall the event, and have new information to offer.