The Murder of Linda Rayner (Connecticut)

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.

Discovery

It was June 26, 1992 and 43-year old Linda Anne 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 salt water breeze. Katherine Farrish 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 her their blue 1989 Honda Accord and then she could take the car to the beach as long as she picked her parents back up after work.⁽¹⁾

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.^(7a) 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.⁽¹⁾

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 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.^(9a)

Around 5 a.m. on Saturday morning, June 27, 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.⁽²⁾ 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.^(1a)

Not long into the search, it was again state Department of Environmental Protection patrol officers who made a discovery that confirmed the Rayner family’s worst fears. Out on the rocks of Meigs 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 Kathryn Kranhold 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.⁽⁷⁾ Linda was the victim of a violent homicide.⁽¹⁾

Investigation

The typically quiet and secluded oceanside landscape of Meigs 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.⁽¹⁷⁾

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 – are 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.⁽¹²⁾

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.⁽³⁾

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.⁽¹⁾ 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.⁽⁶⁾

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 Lt. Michael Woodson called it a weapon of opportunity; maybe a rock or some other object readily available in the natural landscape.⁽³⁾

Working off the crime of opportunity angle, investigators further theorized that the person who killed Linda was probably familiar with the location. Meigs 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.⁽⁷⁾ 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.⁽⁷⁾

As for Linda’s family 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.⁽²⁰⁾

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 Brackenbury’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.⁽⁹⁾

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.

Linda Rayner’s story continues on Dark Downeast. Press play to hear the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.