The Murder of Katherine Murphy (Maine)

It was a long drive leading up to Mayflower Hill on a chilly morning of November 3rd, 1971. The road to the Colby College campus in Waterville, Maine was covered in a thick fog from the previous evening, the kind that seems to settle from the sky all the way to the ground, as though you’re walking through a cloud. 

A marine forecast probably would’ve warned of low visibility on the coast that day, yet a jogger on an early morning run could see the unmistakable form in the woods all the way from the winding road. 

The November 4th Colby Echo describes the scene. It was “about 35 feet from the road, down a slight embankment, near the pumping station, at the sharp turn in Mayflower Hill Drive.” Those from the Waterville area or familiar with Colby College can picture the embankment well, the edge of campus just past The Osborne House where the President of the College resides.

Though this November morning scene was 50 years ago last month, the memory within the community remains. For some, this foggy morning discovery is little more than folklore… for others, it’s visceral.

Katherine Murphy was a freshman at Colby College, continuing her family legacy at Maine’s mini-Ivy liberal arts school, when someone stole her life. This is the still unsolved homicide of Katherine Murphy. This is the case of Colby College student Katherine Murphy.

Thank you to Natalie Jones for submitting this case and co-writing this episode for Dark Downeast.