Welcome back to another week of Unsolved, everyone. This week we are going to be talking about the Eastbound Strangler, a killer from New Jersey in 2006, so relatively recently.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, and area well-known for its casinos and night life, an unidentified killer became responsible for the deaths of four women. The investigation began when all four bodies were found in a drainage ditch in November of 2006. This ditch was in a relatively hidden area behind a motel described as one of the worst in the area, so not many people were ever nearby. They were not very well-hidden because of this, so all four women were found together in shallow water. Each one was face down, facing east, about six feet apart, and fully clothed with the exception of their shoes and socks. An autopsy revealed that they were all likely strangled to death as well, hence the name “Eastbound Strangler”
Barbara Breidor was a 42-year-old prostitute who was reported missing in October of 2006 already several weeks after she originally disappeared. Molly Dilts was a 20-year-old woman from Pennsylvania, and unlike the other victims, she was not connected to prostitution. As the method of acquiring his victims was likely through this line of work, Dilts’ murder has more mystery behind it, but another theory is that she was temporarily working as one because she did not have other employment. Kim Raffo was a 35-year-old former waitress from Brooklyn who left her home to pursue drugs in Atlantic City. She was seen just one day before the bodies were discovered, so she is believed to be the last of the four victims to be murdered. Tracy Roberts was a 23-year-old from Delaware who also used her line of work to support her drug habit.
Several suspects were investigated for these crimes, but none of them were proven to be responsible. Eldred Burchell confessed to another prostitute that he killed people, so he was questioned when she reported this to the police. He was unable to be connected to any of these murders, however. A repairman for the motel was also suspected for a short time. After a dispute with his girlfriend, she implicated him for these murders, and despite finding other disturbing things in his room, he was also unable to be connected to these specific crimes. He had cameras set up in his room and images of his girlfriend’s teen daughter undressing, so there was illegality there, just not murder.
There is very little hard evidence in relation to this case, but there are interesting theories. One is that these killings are related to the Long Island Serial Killer, who I have talked about before, but this is almost certainly ruled out. There is also a supposed witness who claims that there are two men responsible, one African American and one Caucasian. They claim that they lured the victims into a van with the promise of drugs, asking if they wanted to party with them at the motel their bodies were discovered by. Despite a $25,000 reward, no new leads have been reported, so this killer could very well still be living and possibly killing in Atlantic City.
