The 1935 East Middlebury mystery

By Timothy Page

On a spring afternoon in 1935, two women went picking mayflowers near the foot of East Mountain in East Middlebury, Vermont. What started as a simple outing became one of the Green Mountain State’s most enduring cold cases when Grace Dague and her 18-year-old daughter Inez Perry discovered a human skull lying on the ground.

They alerted authorities, and by nightfall Middlebury Sheriff Ralph G. Sweet, Addison County State’s Attorney John T. Conley, and local residents had uncovered the skeletal remains of three people along a remote logging road leading to the Brookins/Blackmer hunting camp. All three victims had been shot in the head. A flattened .38-caliber copper-jacketed bullet—consistent with a Colt automatic—was recovered near the remains. The bodies appeared to have been wrapped in a blanket and a striped store awning. Forensic estimates placed the time of death between one and three years earlier, likely sometime in 1932–1934.

The victims consisted of an adult white female, estimated at 35–45 years old and about 5 feet 2 inches tall, and two children. One child was a boy approximately 9–11 years old (around 4 feet 4 inches tall). The other was a juvenile, originally estimated at 13–15 years old, whose sex could not be definitively determined at the time. The case was immediately classified as a triple homicide, sparking a nationwide search for matching missing persons. Despite extensive efforts, including examination by Harvard anthropologists, no identifications were made and no suspects were ever charged.

The crime scene and early investigation

The remote, wooded location complicated the probe from the start. Police had to station a deputy at the scene to prevent souvenir hunters from cutting pieces of the striped awning as mementos. Initial theories suggested the victims were a mother and her children, a hypothesis later supported by DNA evidence showing a likely maternal relationship between the adult female and at least one of the older juveniles.

In 1938, Detective Almo B. Franzoni proposed that the remains belonged to Cora Golden and her two children, who had seemingly vanished after 1929. Harvard anthropologists noted physical similarities, but later archival research revealed that Cora Golden had died in 1938, with records confirming her children’s survival. Modern DNA testing definitively ruled out the Golden family.

Several other persons of interest were examined in the early years, but none could be conclusively linked to the crime. The limited forensic technology of the era, combined with the passage of time and the isolated setting, caused the investigation to stall.

Modern efforts: DNA, facial reconstructions, and archival work

The victims were eventually buried in a Middlebury cemetery beneath a simple marker inscribed “Three souls known only to God.” Their remains had been stored for decades in nondescript boxes before receiving a formal interment.

In recent decades, renewed attention has come through scientific and volunteer efforts. DNA testing has confirmed a mother-child relationship between the adult female and at least one of the juveniles, though results for the youngest child (the 9–11-year-old boy) have been insufficient or inconclusive regarding familial ties. One skull was reportedly lost in the 1980s while being shipped for dental analysis, adding another obstacle.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has produced facial approximations, including a recent one for the younger boy, in hopes of generating public recognition. Forensic sculptor Joe Mullins, working with students from the New York Academy of Art, created clay reconstructions of the adult female and one child that accounted for the gunshot wounds.

The cases are listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as:

• UP13505 (adult female)
• UP13506 (older juvenile)
• UP13507 (younger boy)

Vermont State Police, Middlebury police, state archivists, and groups such as Unsolved Vermont continue to review historical records, census data, and missing persons reports. Despite these efforts and attempts at genetic genealogy, the victims’ identities remain unknown nearly 91 years later.

An enduring appeal for answers

The East Middlebury triple homicide stands as Vermont’s oldest unsolved case of unidentified remains. The dense forests and sparse population of the 1930s erased many traces, yet the human need for closure persists.

Authorities and advocates urge anyone with information about a family—possibly a mother and children—who disappeared from Vermont or elsewhere in the early 1930s to come forward. Tips can be submitted to the Vermont State Police or NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.

These three individuals still deserve their names—and the truth behind their violent deaths. Key sources include:

• Burlington Free Press: History Space – A 1935 Middlebury cold case
• Vermont Public: With Skulls and Clay, Forensic Sculptor Hopes to Crack 1935 Case
• NCMEC poster for the 9–11-year-old boy

Even after nine decades, a single tip or a fortunate archival discovery could finally bring resolution to this quiet but persistent Vermont mystery.