Aletha Byrd was a 34-year-old personnel counselor reported missing from her Alexandria, Virginia, home on April 10, 1977, during a series of violent attacks on women in the area.

Police identified 18-year-old Montie Ralph Rissell as a suspect after surveillance and forensic links to several victims. A search of his car on May 18, 1977, produced personal items belonging to Byrd, including her wallet, keys, and a comb, leading to his arrest. Rissell confessed to the rape and murder of five women and said he used a knife taken from his mother’s kitchen, attacking victims in elevators and parking lots before forcing them to secluded wooded areas. He pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and received five consecutive life sentences.

Did anyone who knew Aletha or lived near Shirley Highway in 1977 recognize details that could shed more light on her movements before April 10?