In the predawn hours of October 24, 1994, 41-year-old Karen Denise Patterson, an African American woman, was lured into a vehicle in Trenton, New Jersey, with the promise of drugs and later found dead in a vacant parking lot. Her killing was later identified as the first in a series of murders attributed to a perpetrator labeled the Trenton Strangler.

Investigators concluded the killer targeted vulnerable women, often those struggling with drug addiction, offering crack cocaine in exchange for sex and then driving victims to isolated locations where he sexually assaulted and strangled them. The investigation connected Patterson’s death to at least three other victims: Valentina Cuyler, 29; Concetta Hayward, 27; and Debra Ann Walker, 37.

Police ultimately arrested Anthony Balaam, who reportedly confessed to four murders after a fifth intended victim escaped and led officers to him. DNA evidence was reported to tie him to the victims. Does anyone have additional information about Karen’s life or the events that night that could help flesh out the timeline?