53 years ago, during Thanksgiving week on campus in the fall of 1969 when 22-year-old Betsy Aardsma was brutally stabbed to death in the stacks of the Pattee Library located on the campus of the University of Penn State.

Betsy had spent the majority of her Thanksgiving break with her boyfriend but had come back to campus early in order to complete a school assignment. So, on the afternoon of November 28, 1969, Betsy and her roommate found themselves walking from their dorm in Atherton Hall to the library, where Betsy would soon be murdered. 

At 4:45p.m. witnesses reported hearing books falling in the stacks, like a hard rain, and upon further investigation Betsy was discovered crushed underneath a pile of books in aisle 51. Her body was immediately sent to the hospital, in hopes for recovery from whatever injuries she may have endured, however, she was declared death at 5:19 a.m. When Mike Simmers, a Pennsylvania State Police working undercover at Penn State, made it to the crime scene… it was strange. Simmers were led towards the dimly lit stacks where several books were slayed out across the floor, all stained with some unknown liquid, yet he wasn’t expecting the body not to be on the scene.

“They told me the body had already been transported to the hospital on campus,” Simmers said. “The area was already being cleaned up. Students were milling about.” 

Once Simmers made it to the hospital, he discovered that Betsy hadn’t just died from being crushed by books, but her death had been a cruel homicide. Betsy had been stabbed once in her left breast, the wound had been one inch wide, three inches deep, and had hit her pulmonary artery; and due to her screaming, blood had also quickly entered her lungs. 

Knowing that he couldn’t solve this alone, Simmers called backup, and when they arrived back onto the scene, nothing was left intact. The books had been reshelved and the floors had been mopped, and students were allowed to roam free through the area. Nobody was left to answer police questions, but when the witnesses were eventually questioned, all they could recall was hearing the books fall. Although one witness was able to help officers create a sketch of a man that they saw fleeing the scene.

“We had a couple people who we believed could be the suspect,” Simmers said. “But there was never enough evidence to make any arrests.” 

In hoping to find some useful evidence, state police used an ultraviolet light to detect bodily fluids in the area where Betsy had been found. All that was discovered was day old semen, and a spray of tiny blood droplets that looked like someone was flicking their hands. 

Months later, 30-40 troopers were added to the case and yet this case remains unsolved. With the complete lack of evidence and the lack of immediate witnessing, the case didn’t have enough information to go off of; so here we are 53 years later, and Betsy Aardsma’s killer has still yet to be identified.

Yet there are multiple theories on what happened to poor Betsy Aardsma: 
 

1. The killer was theorized to have been a man whose romantic advances had been rejected by Betsy. 

1. The killer had been Ted Bundy who was seen at Temple University around the time of the murder. 

1. Larry Maurer, witnessed to have been running away from the Level 2 core stacks immediately after Aardsma’s stabbing. 

1. Richard Haefner a student, whom was acquainted with the victim until Besty terminated the friendship a month prior. 

Who do you think did it?