Three women. Three homicides. One killer.

I would like to know more about the cold case of Cressy Anquoe, July 1962, also Judith File about the same time.

Thanks, Wanda. Let me see what I can find out. Anyone else have any they’d like to see?

I wonder if anyone found it a little strange that one of the cops picks a random, abandoned house, mentions maybe finding a dead body and somehow managed to jar the popcorn maker enough to dislodge a head. I’m not saying that he was responsible for the murder, but I’m wondering if he was questioned at any great length on these details.

I don’t think it was a cop that found the random house – it was a construction person if I understood it right. Just ‘passing time…’ – but I wonder the same thing… also did they canvas the nearby neighborhoods, see if anyone in the area was known to ‘hate native americans’?

To Mike: may be you should listen to the story again or re-read it. The man interviewed said an old popcorn BOX, or something like what you would get from a theatre or movie place. I did not read or hear anything about a popcorn maker, nor a cop finding a body. I also heard the man say a stick was used to move the box and a head rolled out. Maybe you should get your facts straight before commenting on anything.

I’m sure that police looked into the backgrounds of everyone involved with the discovery of Cathy Lyn Shackelford’s remains. By all indications, Mr. Shores, who is now deceased, and the others found the remains purely by happenstance.

Police also launched extensive canvasses of the area. It’s interesting to note that although the victims were all of American Indian descent, they were all light-skinned and could easily have been mistaken for Hispanic, white or even Asian. Inspector Kyle Eastridge says he does not think their ethnic makeup played a major role in this case.

After reading the story, the first thing that popped into my head ( as I’m sure that most or at least some of the investigators thought the same thing) was that this killer may well have been a (crazy) medical student from OU Medical Center just getting some out of class disection time in order to make better grades and just eventually made a mess of the bodies to hide the fact that the killer had some know how of the art of human disection…just an idea!. Below is the part of the story of which I am referring to. Idea #2…maybe it is a student or a Doctor into black market body parts !

By all indications, there was at least one other similarity: The killer didn’t rush with the butchery.

“There is evidence to suggest that this person took his time with the victims and may even have toyed with their bodies, at least post-mortem, not to mention the time it would’ve taken to dissect them into pieces,” Eastridge said.

Initially, rumors persisted in media reports and on the streets that the killer was a medical student or physician, someone familiar with human anatomy and skilled in dissection. After all, the OU Medical Center was nearby, and who else could make those cuts?

Just about anyone, Eastridge said.

“There’s nothing surgical about this,” he said. “It’s just a gruesome and terrible tearing-down of the human body. Basically, all these girls, they were just cut into bits.”

Have you checked out what happened in Stroudsburg Pa this week with the dismembered body along the roadside? I know some cruel sick killers dismember their victims, but the poor girl here was left where people would find her. I couldn’t imagine why a family member would do that if they killed her. Then I read about this case. Maybe you could contact the Stroud Regional Police Department and see if the body was found in similar fashion, with all the horrible cuts, they haven’t published much – thank goodness! The morning call also has information on their site.

Thank you, Wanda for bringing up the Judith File case. I was in my early 20s at the time and lived near where she was murdered at N.W. 16th and Penn. She was living in the back of a house on the S.E. corner (which is still there). A dentist lived and practiced in the front of the house. Not sure if memory serves correctly on this next point, but I believe she worked for the dentist in some capacity. She was mutilated and the bed set on fire. To my knowledge, no one was ever arrested. Lately, I’ve had her on my mind these 40 odd years later. Your reference to Judith File is all I can find on the internet.
Anyone know anything?
Bonnie

Our archives indicate that police at the time considered the case closed, even though their number one suspect was not convicted in Judith File’s death.

File, 19, was stabbed, raped and beaten on Jan. 5, 1963.

A few years later, police identified a suspect in the case — Charles Thomas Autry, then 26, who was serving time for stealing wigs. One of his cellmates said Autry boasted about stabbing File to death and setting her on fire.

A jury didn’t buy it, and Autry was acquitted on March 30, 1969.

A December 1969 article cites an unnamed police detective as saying the case is “cleared,” or closed.

“Legally it (the case) is still open, but it isn’t active with us,” the detective said.

Police apparently still blamed Autry, even though he was exonerated.

I was 19 and living within a half mile of the location where Judith file was murdered. I also remember that she was living in the back part of a house at 16th and Penn where a dentist had a practice.
I do remember hearing she was stabbed, her breasts cut off, and that she was set fire in her bed. Thank you for the information about the accused and the subsequent release of Charles Thomas Autry. I hadn’t remembered there having been an arrest.

Bonnie Arthur

The Judith File case is one that my family still talks about. Her mother was a family friend. Does anyone know where I can find out more information about this cold case? Autry was (apparently) at the Satellite Club when she was murdered. If I remember correctly, the waitress testified that she saw and talked to him sometime around closing. The murder happened at around 12:30 am.
She was an assistant for the dentist that you refer to. He was given a lie detector test and cleared.
It has always been strange that the case was not pursued after Autry was exonerated. There were several years that passed between the murder and Autry’s trial. Perhaps interest was lost after that?
It would be wonderful if this one was solved after so many years.

I graduated high school with Judy File in 1961. She was a very nice girl and a good friend for the short time I knew her. I also have wondered all these years if they ever solved her murder. I did hear several years back that they tried to tie Richard Speck to it, but nothing came of it. It’s horrible to think what that poor girl went thru.

I CAME ACROSS THIS BLOG VIA GOOGLE…I WAS LOOKING FOR ANY INFORMATION REGARDING JUDITH FILE…JUDY IS MY COUSIN AND LATELY I AM FILLED WITH THOUGHTS OF HER…WONDERING WHY HER MURDER HAS NOT BEEN SOLVED, ESPECIALY WITH DNA AVAILABLE. I HAVE WRITTEN THE OKLAHOMA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION ASKING THEM TO REOPEN THE CASE. YOUR SUPPORT REGARDING THE REOPENING OF THIS CASE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRICATED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS AND THOUGHTS OF JUDY ARE APPRECATED. THANK YOU FOR BEING HER FRIEND.