A memorable murder
Here’s another example of a typical Q&A. This one was published in the Herald-Leader on March 7, 2005.
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Question: When I was a child, there was a sensational murder in Lexington. A student at Transylvania College had been murdered by strangulation.
Her first name was Betty and if I recall correctly, her last name was Brown. That incident took place over 40 years ago. Is that case ice cold and forgotten now or have there been any new developments? – Sandra Griffett, Winchester
Answer: On Oct. 27, 1961, Betty Gail Brown, a 19-year-old student at Transylvania University, was found strangled inside her small car on campus.
A man who confessed to the highly publicized crime, Alex Arnold Jr., later recanted, and his trial ended in a hung jury. Eventually charges against Arnold were dropped. The case lingers in the memories of many in Central Kentucky.
According to Lexington police Lt. James Curless, because Arnold was charged and acquitted in that crime, it is considered a cleared case. But if someone brought new evidence forward it would be investigated.
Arnold is deceased, as are Betty Gail Brown’s parents.
At the time of the slaying, authorities received hundreds of letters offering hints or clues, and hundreds of people were fingerprinted or questioned. In the past, police received an occasional anonymous letter about the case.
About 1986, some information arose in Utah that caused police to re-examine the case. After a lengthy investigation, it turned out that the information had nothing to do with the case.
Filed under: Lexington History
My mother was a public school librarian. I earned a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Kentucky. The Herald-Leader hired me as a news assistant 25 years ago; soon after, I moved to the news research department, where I’ve been ever since. We used to clip newspapers. Now, almost all of our research is online. We've come a long way.
I was a student at Transylvania and Betty Gail was “townie”, but was studying for a test down the hall from me. Her murder shocked and frightened all of us. The murderer was assumed to be male, and we all looked over our shoulders, and looked at all our male acquaintances with suspicion, not knowing whom to trust.
Do you know if Mr. Arnold had any connection to Transy?