Mary Jeter Mathis was 36 and the first identified victim in a string of murders uncovered in a North Philadelphia apartment in August 1987. Neighbors reported a foul odor, and investigators found seven decomposing bodies inside the unit; Mathis, who struggled with drug addiction and was a mother of five, had been strangled.

Reports say the suspect, Harrison Marty Graham, lured primarily vulnerable women with promises of drugs, engaged in sexual activity with them, and then strangled them, leaving the bodies to decompose in the apartment. The remains were in varying states of decomposition, some piled, others hidden in closets or behind walls. Graham fled after the discovery but surrendered to police on August 17, 1987, and confessed, giving details about each victim.

A conviction on seven counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of abuse of a corpse followed in 1988. Does anyone have memories of Mary Mathis or information about her life in Philadelphia that could add context to her story?