Dark Downeast - The Murder of Linda Rayner (Connecticut)

Episode Date: November 21, 2024

When Linda Rayner left for a walk in Hammonasset Beach State Park in the summer of 1992, she was seeking the beauty and peace that only the ocean can bring. Instead, she was brutally attacked by an unknown assailant and her case has remained unsolved ever since.In the thirty-plus years since her death, investigators have identified at least one suspect… But her loved ones are still waiting for the day that they have all the answers.If you have any information about the 1992 murder of Linda Rayner in Hammonasset Beach State Park, please call the Connecticut Cold Case Unit at [phone]. If you have any information relating to the 2001 homicide of Josephine Catania, please write to the Middletown Police at [e-mail]. View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/lindarayner Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

When Linda Rayner left for a walk in Hammonasset Beach State Park in the summer of 1992, she was seeking the beauty and peace that only the ocean can bring. Instead, she was brutally attacked by an unknown assailant, and her case has remained unsolved ever since. In the 30-plus years since her death, investigators have identified at least one suspect, but her loved ones are still waiting for the day that they have all the answers. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is the-old Linda Ann Rayner had the whole afternoon ahead of her. She was back in her hometown of Deep River, Connecticut for a few days to attend a conference

and spend some time with her big, close-knit family. But her career as a social worker always had her around a lot of people, so she relished the opportunity to take some time for herself on the trip too. So that Friday afternoon, Linda decided to make the most of a midsummer weekend in New England and take a solo walk along the ocean. Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Connecticut was about 15 minutes away, and she had memories there as a kid. It was the perfect spot for a stroll in the saltwater breeze. Catherine Farish reports for the Hartford Courant that since Linda was visiting from California and didn't have a rental car,

the plan was for her to drive her parents to work in their blue 1989 Honda Accord, and then she could take that car to the beach as long as she picked her parents back work in their blue 1989 Honda Accord, and then she could take that car to the beach as long as she picked her parents back up after work. Linda dropped her parents off in Chester and then set off towards Madison. Linda reportedly passed through the park entrance by 1.30 p.m. She continued down towards one of the parking areas for the two-mile-long stretch of beach and parked in a lot near the Meigs Point Nature Center. Linda then ventured to the eastern boundaries of the park on foot, away from the busier areas where families and kids built their sandcastles, and towards the

more remote walking paths and the jetty favored by fishermen and hikers. Around 4.30 that afternoon, the time Linda was due to pick up her parents, Charles and Mary Rayner sat waiting and wondering what was keeping their daughter. It didn't take long for a pit of worry to form in their gut. The only reasonable explanation for Linda not arriving at the planned time was that something had happened. Throughout the evening, Linda's parents and siblings tried to track her down. They knew she was going to Hammonasset, and so they drove along the many access roads to the beach, weaving the parking lots looking for

Linda and the blue Honda. By nightfall, her family hadn't spotted the car in the state park, and Linda still hadn't returned home. Their fears that something terrible had happened were growing heavier by the second. Linda's parents reported her missing to police by 9 o'clock that night, just as heavy rains drenched the Connecticut coastline. Around 5 a.m. on Saturday morning, June 27th, patrol officers with the Department of Environmental Protection spotted a blue Honda in the Nature Center parking lot. The license plate confirmed it was Linda's parents' car. Although her family had searched parts of the park the night before,

they hadn't gone that far east. With the discovery of the car, the eastern end was shut down, and the search for clues began. Not long into the search, it was again State Department of Environmental Protection patrol officers who made a discovery that confirmed the Raynor family's worst fears. Out on the rocks of Meg's Point was Linda's lifeless body. Even from the very first moments, it was clear that Linda did not suffer a fall or accidental injuries.

Someone did this to Linda. According to reporting by Catherine Cranhold for the Hartford Courant, an autopsy by the chief state medical examiner found that Linda's cause of death was blunt trauma to the head and neck, and there was no clinical evidence of sexual assault. Linda was the victim of a violent homicide.

The typically quiet and secluded oceanside landscape of Meg's Point transformed into an active crime scene. State and local police poured into the park and secured the area with the support of DEP officers. But the investigation hit a major brick wall before it even began. The scene was drying out from torrential rain that passed through overnight. The reality was that whatever evidence may have been there, footprints, hair, blood, was likely all washed away. Still, at least one piece of critical evidence was recovered. Authorities found and collected a single strand of hair. Any description of this hair, like where exactly it was found,

the color, length, or other details, they're absent from the source material I was able to access during my research for this case. But the hair could hold information critical to the case, and so it was retained for later testing and analysis. Investigators believed that the attack occurred sometime between 1.30 and 4.30 p.m., the estimated time Linda arrived and the time she was supposed to pick up her parents. Police appealed to the public for information from

anyone who may have seen something strange or suspicious at the park during that window. With the severity and brutality of the beating Linda sustained, police had reason to suspect that the killer may have had blood on their arms, hands, and clothing, and could have even gone to a bathroom to clean up before leaving the park. Over the first few days of the investigation, police distributed posters at the park with Linda's photo and pictures of the clothing she was wearing when she left for her walk. A reddish-orange tube top, a yellow pullover, black shorts, and white sneakers. Even if people didn't recognize her face,

police hoped her clothing would jog memories and shake out any sightings of Linda at the park before she was killed. The posters and other media coverage brought in numerous calls and tips for police to chase down, but the information did not develop into the swift arrest of any suspects. Now, one big question in this case from the jump was who would want to hurt Linda? She was only in town for a few days, so it didn't seem likely that she'd been stalked or followed, or that Linda was singled out by someone who specifically wanted to kill her. The scary reality was that someone could have attacked Linda for no specific reason other than she was walking alone in this remote area.

Vivian Louie reports for the Hartford Courant that everything about the crime appeared spontaneous. Investigators hadn't said if they'd located a murder weapon or not, but they did suggest it was something nearby. State Police Lieutenant Michael Woodson called it a weapon of opportunity, maybe a rock or some other object readily available in the natural landscape. Working off the crime of opportunity angle, investigators further theorized that the person who killed Linda was probably familiar with the location. Meg's point was difficult to access.

There was only a single path leading in and out, with one side flanked by high grass and marshland and the other by large rocks. It wasn't exactly a location that you stumbled upon. Police also believed that although there were no signs of sexual assault, it was possible her attacker intended or tried to sexually assault Linda, but escalated to homicidal violence when she fought back. As for Linda's family members' views on everything, they thought it was possible that Linda tried to talk to the person who did this to her. Linda had devoted much of her life to the service and support of others. She counseled those in need and supported people through life's most challenging moments.

Her family believed that it would be totally within Linda's character to try and reason with her assailant or counsel them away from making a decision they couldn't take back. Maybe that was what caused the assailant to lash out. The investigation continued through the end of June and into July and August. By September and the unofficial end to summer in New England, there were still no arrests for Linda's murder. However, there was progress behind the scenes. Police were vague in their public statements about the case, but according to Paula Brackenberry's reporting for the New Haven Register,

investigators were looking into several people in connection with Linda's murder. They hoped DNA analysis of physical evidence would narrow down the list enough to move the case forward. Among the several people under police scrutiny during the first few months of the investigation was a known violent offender who had been in prison since the 70s for the horrific beating deaths of three people. How was it possible that a convicted multiple murderer serving a life sentence became a suspect? Well, it turned out that he was on furlough and spending the last weekend in June of 1992 not far from Hammonasset Beach State Park. As reported by Dave Altomare, Colin Poitras, and Jane Dee for the Hartford Courant, in August of 1970, three people were out walking in West Rock Park of New Haven

for a group outing when they were attacked by a single assailant wielding a large rock. The individuals, 20-year-old William White, 15-year-old Donna Schlitter, and 23-year-old Sandra Hedler, were residents of the Greater New Haven Regional Center, which provided housing and services for people with intellectual disabilities. Donna and Sandra were found deceased later that day, their skulls crushed with rocks. William was found alive but succumbed to his injuries in the hospital a little over two weeks later. A UBI report in the Nagatak Daily News indicates that police followed tips that a late model blue car was seen in the area at the approximate time of the attacks.

That tip led police to a suspect in New Haven, 24-year-old Harold Meade. In December of that year, Harold was arrested and he confessed to the murders of William, Donna, and Sandra. He later pleaded guilty to three counts of secondary murder and was sentenced to three life terms in state prison.

It deserves mention that Harold later became a suspect in the unsolved murders of 11-year-old Diane Buey, whose name was first thought to be Diane Toney, on May 18, 1969, 14-year-old Don Cave on May 26, 1969, 14-year-old Dawn Cave on May 26th, 1969, 10-year-old Mary Mount on May 27th, 1969, and 5-year-old Jennifer Noon on September 21st, 1970. Charges were not pursued against Harold in these four unsolved cases, despite evidence and connections, basically because prosecutors thought he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison anyway. That's what New Haven State's attorney Michael Derington wrote in a letter to the state's board of parole recommending that Harold never be granted parole. The judge who originally handed down Harold's life terms also recommended that he

never be granted parole. However, during the first decade plus of his multiple life terms, also recommended that he never be granted parole. However, during the first decade plus of his multiple life term, Harold proved himself to be a well-behaved and hardworking inmate. Now, he was denied parole in 1985, but that same year he managed to earn himself the privilege of furlough under the state's generous program that allowed most inmates single-day and weekend-long leaves from prison grounds, regardless of the charges that had them incarcerated in the first place. As reported by the Hartford Courant, in a seven-year span, Harold took 184 one-day furloughs and 68 three-day weekend leaves. During these reprieves from the confines of state prison, Harold married his second wife, Adrienne, and then during the weekend of June 26, 1992,

Harold and his wife rented a little cabin in the Campview Motor Court in Waterford to celebrate their second wedding anniversary. If that date of Harold's weekend furlough rings a bell, it's because that was the same day Linda's family reported her missing. It was the same day Linda was brutally beaten by a killer who was still at large. But it wasn't until a few months later, when one of Harold's fellow inmates wrote a letter to investigators, that this possible connection came to light. In the letter, which was obtained by the Hartford Courant under condition of anonymity, the inmate said that Harold admitted a window of time on the weekend of June 26, 1992, that Harold went to buy a pack of cigarettes and decided to smoke those cigarettes at Hammonasset Beach State Park. The state park was just over 25 miles away from the cabin Harold and his wife had rented. It's there, the inmate claimed, that Harold said he saw a young woman sitting alone and attacked her.

When he returned to the cabin with his wife, Harold supposedly told her that if anyone asked, tell them he was with her in New London at dinner. Investigators confirmed that Harold was on furlough the weekend of Linda's murder, and he was within a short drive's distance away from the scene of her murder. Those factors alone were cause for closer inspection, but there was more to consider too. Remember, Harold was convicted of killing three people by beating them with a rock. Linda's cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and neck, possibly caused by her killer beating her with a rock or some other weapon of opportunity. The similarities in the MO was another major red flag. Within two months of Linda's murder, Harold's furlough privileges were revoked and he was placed in the highest security unit of the prison just below death row. It's there that

Harold allegedly talked about Linda's murder to another inmate. The second inmate claimed that Harold told him he was worried he was moved to the maximum security unit because police knew he was in the park on the day Linda was murdered and feared he might face charges in connection with the case. Now, investigators say they did their due diligence vetting these jailhouse informant stories. The two inmates would not have had a chance to collaborate and compare notes to implicate Harold for Linda's murder. The first inmate's letter contained many details about Linda's case that were accurate, but also some that were not. From the source material

I've been able to access, it doesn't seem like this inmate's letter contained anything unique or that wasn't already available in media coverage at the time. When investigators tried to get the second inmate to take a polygraph test, he backed out at the last minute. Investigators also spoke with Harold's wife, and she reportedly gave him an alibi. She said they spent every second together that weekend, mostly fishing and going out to dinner. In the end, the stories from the two inmates were deemed not credible. It seems that the investigation of Harold Mead for Linda's murder didn't go much further. Maybe that's because police were already pursuing a different suspect, another man who also had a history of criminal behavior before and after Linda was killed,

and who had victimized other people in the same location where Linda's body was found. On the afternoon of August 31st, 1993, a woman walking with her two young daughters along Pebbles Beach near Meigs Point in Hammonasset Beach State Park encountered a man exposing himself while waving at them. The mother escaped with her children while the man ran off and got into a gray 1981 Chevy van. Later, the woman was able to identify the suspect as a 44-year-old man we'll call Gregory. Gregory and his wife had been camping at the park when police arrested him.

He faced one count of public indecency and impairing the morals of minors. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $500 surety bond. The file for this case has since been destroyed in accordance with Connecticut Superior Court retention schedules. However, the clerk was able to tell me that Gregory was convicted of public indecency in May of 1994. He was sentenced to two years probation, but violated his probation in July of that year. The case was disposed on March 7th, 1995. But even before Gregory was arrested for this public indecency charge in 1993 for his act at Hammon Asset Beach State Park,

he'd landed himself on the list of possible suspects for Linda's murder. His criminal history included two other public indecency convictions and one conviction for resisting arrest. Not only that, police learned that Gregory was camping at Hammond Asset Beach State Park on the weekend Linda was murdered, and he reportedly had scratches on his arms and hands when police first interviewed him as part of the investigation. The suspect's home in Middletown was searched as part of the investigation into Linda's murder, but what, if anything, was recovered or learned during that search is not publicly available. Reporting by Dwight F. Blint for the Hartford Courant indicates that police wanted to arrest the suspect we're calling Gregory, but New Haven State's attorney Michael Derington would not sign the warrant.

The connections were compelling but entirely circumstantial, and not strong enough to support an arrest in the eyes of the state's attorney. Physical evidence would have tightened up the case, but most of it washed away in the rain, and that single strand of hair still had yet to be tested or compared to any samples from any suspects. It seems that investigators were playing it exceptionally safe with that strand of hair, and for good reason.

The fear was that because the testing would destroy the sample, if they didn't get accurate results the first time, future or follow-up testing would be impossible. So state police were still trying to locate a lab that could conduct this advanced DNA testing with conclusive results. Around the one-year anniversary of Linda's murder in June of 1993, police had almost sent off the hair for mitochondrial DNA testing, but the lab didn't have a great track record with the method, and so they ultimately decided against it and continued the search for a lab that could perform the analysis. In the meantime, the push for information from the public was as strong as ever. Police and Linda's family encouraged anyone who visited the park that weekend, who may have seen

someone running or walking away from the area in a suspicious manner to call police with that information. No detail was insignificant. State police said they knew what they were looking for, and a tip could change everything in the stagnant case. And yet, that one game-changing tip was elusive. Another year passed, bringing another anniversary without an arrest. In 1994, state police announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Linda's killer. Four years later, in 1998, the reward increased to a massive $50,000. The reward stirred up some new calls, but none that led to any real progress in the case. Eventually, the hair sample collected at the scene was sent off to the FBI laboratory to perform sophisticated DNA analysis.

However, the results of that testing were, quote, disappointing and inconclusive. It's unclear whether the entire sample was used or if it was destroyed as a result of the testing. According to reporting by Jane E. Dee for the Hartford Courant, by the seven-year anniversary of Linda Rainer's murder in 1999, police maintained that they had a strong suspect in the case, but still not enough evidence to back up their suspicions and secure an arrest.

Each year, Linda's family returned to the spot in Hammonasset Beach State Park where she was killed and reflected on her life and all she meant to them. They laid flowers on the rocks and tossed blooms into the sea. When they spoke about her unresolved case, their words were absent of any vitriol or hate. They continued Linda's legacy of compassion and love, and they just wanted to know that whoever ripped Linda from their lives so violently would never have the opportunity to cause another family the same pain. That was a big fear for the police, too. That Linda's killer had the capacity to kill again, if not apprehended soon. Just after the nine-year anniversary of Linda Rayner's murder,

another homicide in Connecticut had people wondering if that big fear had been realized. According to reporting by Amy Zitka for the Middletown Press, around 8.30 in the morning on July 17, 2001, a maintenance worker at the Sagamore Hills apartment complex at 1151 Washington Street in Middletown, Connecticut, noticed someone on the ground in a locked storage area. On closer inspection behind the metal door, the maintenance worker realized it was the badly beaten body of a woman, longtime resident 86-year-old Josephine Catania. An autopsy performed by the Office of the State Chief Medical Examiner found that Josephine died from blunt trauma to the head

and chest. She'd been killed in the same place she was found and was likely laying there in the storage unit for a few days before she was discovered. It wasn't clear what, if anything, was used as a weapon to inflict the wounds. Middletown police were considering the possibility that an attacker forcibly hit her head against the wall. Also unknown at the time was the motive for such a killing. It didn't appear that Josephine had been robbed, and her apartment on the top floor of the building was undisturbed. Investigators wouldn't say if they knew how Josephine got into that locked storage unit area. It reportedly wasn't actively used by current tenants, and only a few people had a key to access it.

Police said they'd found a set of keys near Josephine's body, but weren't saying if there was a key to the unit in the set. When it came to developing a list of suspects for her murder, police were pretty confident that this wasn't a random person off the street. Christopher Keating reports for The Current that since the storage unit wasn't easily accessible, and it was kind of tucked away off the main level of the building, it's not an area you would just come across by chance. Police theorized the assailant either knew Josephine or was familiar with the building and the storage area itself. Interestingly enough, there was a tenant

in the building who was already known to investigators. A person whose history had him on their radar for a still-unsolved murder from nine years earlier. Yeah, a suspect in Linda Rayner's case was one of Josephine Catania's neighbors in the apartment complex. Though reporting doesn't use the suspect's name, a little cross-referencing of public records shows that the person we're

calling Gregory also lived at 1151 Washington Street in Middletown. Investigators were kind of vague when asked about Gregory. Police said they were aware he lived in the building, but didn't consider him a suspect for Josephine's murder. But they also hadn't ruled anybody out yet, and the investigation was still ongoing. About 10 days after her body was discovered, Josephine's case was still open and active, without any indication that an arrest was on the horizon. Undisclosed evidence was sent off for testing

at the State Forensic Science Laboratory, but if anything came of that testing, it wasn't enough to close the case. And that's how the case remains today. Josephine Catania's murder, just like Linda Rayner's, is still unsolved. Harold Mead was never charged or convicted of any crimes related to the unsolved homicide of Linda Rayner. He maintained that he had nothing to do with Linda's death, and the fact that he lost his furlough privileges over his suspected involvement made him angry. But Harold's possible connection to Linda's murder was and is worthy of some consideration. The MO was similar. He beat the heads of all his confirmed victims

with rocks. William, Donna, and Sandra were out for a walk, like Linda. Harold was in the area of Hammond Nesset Beach State Park on the weekend of Linda's murder. Two separate inmates came forward with their stories about Harold discussing the case and allegedly admitting to one of them that he killed Linda, though the stories were later deemed not credible. And then again, Harold's known victims were younger than Linda, between 15 and 23 years old. The other murders where Harold is a suspect, Diane Buey, Don Cave, Mary Mount, and Jennifer Noon,

they're all children, so arguably a much different victimology that Linda does not fit into. Harold said in a 2000 interview that he was fed up with the accusations that he had anything to do with Linda's murder or the murders of the four children in 1969 and 1970. Part of me wonders, if he was so willing to confess to the murders of William, Donna, and Sandra, and he was already serving a life sentence, why wouldn't he also confess to other crimes if he was, in fact, guilty of them? But, you know, maybe he was holding out hope that a furlough program would be reinstated or that someday he'd be eligible for parole.

Who knows? But Harold never again saw life outside of a cell. He died in prison custody in 2007. As for the other suspect in Linda Rayner's case, the person I've referred to as Gregory, he has also never been charged or convicted of any crimes related to the murder of Linda Rayner or to the murder of Josephine Catania. In the source material I've been able to dig up, this person has not been publicly identified by his real name. However, through cross-referencing public records, age and birth date,

addresses and other details uncovered in my research for this case, I was able to figure out this suspect's real name. To the best of my knowledge, he is still alive. At least, a person by the same name and of the same age, with the same past addresses and the same previous convictions, is still alive. So, I tried a few phone numbers I found tied to the suspect's real name. The first was a cell phone number. It went straight to voicemail.

Hi, this is ******. Please leave me a message and I will call you back. Thanks. Hi ***. My name is Kylie. I'm a journalist. I'm trying to reach someone named *** and this number came back as below. The name on the voicemail message didn't appear to be connected to the man I was looking for, so maybe the cell phone number I had was old or incorrect. Then, I tried a residential landline number, because those still exist. Hello? Hi there, I'm trying to reach... This was the number I have for him. Does he live at this number? Who's calling? My name's Kylie. I'm a journalist. I'm working on a story about something that happened in Connecticut in 2001,

and I was hoping to speak with about it. My headphones didn't pick up that telltale click on the other end of the phone, so I didn't realize they'd hung up before I finished my spiel. But I never successfully reached the person I believe is a suspect in Linda Rayner's murder and who once lived in the same building as Josephine Catania. Hopefully the investigators tasked with solving these two unresolved cases have had better luck than I did. Speaking of the investigators, when I requested records for Josephine Catania's case from the Middletown Police Department, as anticipated, my request was denied since it's still considered to be under investigation. However, Records Bureau Supervisor Sergeant Elias Martz wrote in an email response that if I locate any information that might aid the investigation, I should send it to policeinfo at middletownct.gov. So, I sent over that last phone number I tried for Gregory and a quick little summary of what

I learned while researching both cases, really just to remind Middletown PD that Josephine's case is still unsolved and maybe pique some interest if it had been a while since those files were reviewed. Of course, I did the same for Linda's case, too. You've heard a little bit about Linda Rayner already, but I want you to get a full sense of the kind of person the world lost when a still-unidentified killer ended her life that day, more than 30 years ago. Linda graduated from Valley Regional High School in 1967 and then went to the University of Connecticut and went on to teach

English at Windsor and Rocky High Schools while simultaneously working on her master's degree at Wesleyan University. She moved out west to California in 1975 and began what would become her life's work of activism and volunteerism. That's how she met the man who would become her husband, Larry Ferlazzo, who was also a dedicated volunteer and activist. Together, Larry and Linda moved to Santa Rosa in 1981 and started a mobile soup kitchen from the back of their Volkswagen van. They offered lodging in their home to families who needed it and were known for their generosity and kindness to those experiencing homelessness and people facing food insecurity. Linda also worked with families experiencing grief and loss

as a bereavement and volunteer program coordinator at a hospice. She led a support group for people who had lost their partners to the AIDS epidemic. A supervisor at the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County, Karen Johnson, referred to Linda as, quote, the backbone and the heart of the volunteer efforts in this county, end quote. In her brief but meaningful and purpose-filled life, Linda was honored by the California Legislature for her charity work. After her death, a volunteerism award in her honor recognized those who carried Linda's legacy forward. But maybe the most special of the recognitions Linda received

was from her daughter, who said, she was the best mom in the world. Linda's murder had a far-reaching impact on her family and her community, and to this day investigators have been unable to bring charges against any suspect. That person could still be out there. In a letter from Linda's sister, Janet Rayner, published in the Hartford Courant in August of 1997, she addressed her sister's unidentified murderer directly. Quote, I have been hurt by people I know, but you, a complete

stranger, have hurt me more than I could have imagined. You ended a career of caring that is rare in this world. You tore her from us so violently that the mortician could not make her presentable for viewing by her family. Please get the help you need so that you don't harm another innocent life. End quote. If you have any information about the 1992 murder of Linda Rayner in Hammond-Esset Beach State Park, please call the Connecticut Cold Case Unit at 1-866-623-8058. Next week is an off week for Dark Down East, but I'll be back the following Thursday with a new episode. Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. You can find all source material for this case at darkdowneast.com.

Be sure to follow the show on Instagram at darkdowneast. This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East. Dark Down East is a production of Kylie Media and Audiocheck. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?