Case 137
Arlis Perry
19-year-old Arlis Perry took her Christian faith seriously. After fighting with her husband Bruce on the night of October 12 1974, she decided to clear her head by stopping in at the Stanford Memorial Church to pray. When she still hadn’t returned an hour later, Bruce checked the church but the doors we locked. He waited a few more hours before reporting Arlis missing.
In the early morning hours, Stanford University night watchman Stephen Crawford entered the church and came across a shocking scene. Arlis had been brutally murdered in what appeared to be a satanic ritual. Several other young women had been murdered around Stanford University over recent years, leading investigators to question whether Arlis’s murder was a standalone attack or part of something bigger.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research – Jessica Forsayeth
Writing – Elsha McGill
Additional writing & editing – Milly Raso
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
RESOURCES
BOOKS:
The Ultimate Evil, an Investigation Into America’s Most Dangerous Satanic Cult – Maury Terry
Who killed Arlis Perry? – Darla Foster
Bloody Ivy: 13 Unsolved Campus Murders – Chris & Harry Bobonich
THE STANFORD DAILY ARCHIVES:
Police Discover Suicide Victim – Issue 12, Feb 16 1973
Deputies Investigate On-Campus Strangling – Issue 13, Feb 20 1973
Police say Perlov Not Sexually Assaulted – Issue 15, Feb 22 1973
Law Officials Continue Taylor Murder Probe – Issue 28, April 1 1974
Slim Lead In Taylor Case – Issue 29, April 2 1974
Student’s Slaying Baffles Campus, County Officers – Issue 1, Sept 24 1973
NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES:
Sheriff pleads for clues to coed hitchhiker killer – Independent
Seek Sexual Psychopath for Slaying – The Times
Investigators seek link between two slayings – Santa Cruz Sentinel
Coed found stabbed: Stanford Chapel Murder – Tulare- Advance Register
They Came to Pray for Arlis Perry – The San Francisco Examiner
Woman is Slain in Church – The Billings Gazette
Officials Doubt Slaying Link to Ritualism – The Bismarck Tribune
God Was Very Real to Young Couple – The Bismarck Tribune
Arlis Perry Rites Scheduled Friday – The Bismarck Tribune
Mourners Comforted by Arlis’s Words – The Bismarck Tribune
Mrs Perry Eulogized as Probe Continues – The Bismarck Tribune
Marvin Dykema Obituary – The Bismarck Tribune
Engagement of Arlis Dykema – The Bismarck Tribune
Child Abuse on the Brain – The Chicago Reader
Bundy may be linked to Stanford murder – The Stanford Daily
Bismarck’s Shocking Best Seller – The Bismarck Tribune
Stanford Student’s wife found slain in church – The Stanford Daily
Update (Leslie Perlov) – The San Francisco Examiner
Blond Man Sought in Strangling – The Times
ARTICLES:
Murder at Memorial Church remains unsolved forty years later – The Stanford Daily
NYC musician linked to unsolved church murder, and ‘Son of Sam’ killer is involved – The New York Post
Cops Cracked 3 Standford Cold Case Murders. Will DNA Help Them Solve a 4th Campus Killing? – The Mercury News
Suspect in 1974 Stanford Killing was Guard who Found Body – The Mercury News
Stanford church slaying suspect was likely considering suicide for two years – The Mercury News
Sheriff: suicide note, serial killer jacket at murder suspect’s home – Palo Alto Online
Sheriff investigating whether Stanford watchman linked to other campus murders – Palo Alto Online
‘She fought desperately’: Arrest in 1973 killing of Stanford grad after DNA genealogy probe – The Mercury News
Sheriff: Grisly 1974 Stanford murder solved – Palo Alto Online
Victim’s sister confronts alleged killer – Palo Alto Online
Murderer of former athletic director’s daughter identified after 45 years – The Stanford Daily
He was a married hospital technician and a Boy Scouts leader. Was former Palo Alto resident John Getreu also a serial killer? – Palo Alto Online
Suspected serial killer charged in 2nd Stanford cold case homicide from the ’70s – The Los Angeles Times
Victim’s green pants to be key piece of evidence in serial-killer case – Palo Alto Online
I still miss my sister: family of slain Stanford grad ‘grateful’ for arrest in 1973 killing – The Mercury News
Alleged serial killer pleads not guilty in 1973 murder case – Palo Alto Online
VIDEOS:
Behind the Headlines – Stanford Memorial Church Murder
Sheriff discusses cracking a 1974 cold case murder
Sheriff offers new details on death of infamous cold case suspect
Oprah reports on childhood trauma’s long-term effect
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