Kathie Sue Pierce was 24 when she was killed inside her Musella, Crawford County, Georgia home on August 23, 1974. A stranger forced his way into the house while her three-year-old son was present. The intruder attacked Pierce and strangled her with a telephone cord; the child was left unharmed and alone when the assailant fled.

Investigators later identified the intruder as fugitive Paul John Knowles, whose cross‑country crime spree in 1974 included robberies, kidnappings, stolen vehicles and multiple murders. Strangulation was a repeated method linked to Knowles, and the circumstances of Pierce’s death were judged consistent with his other crimes. Knowles was captured in November 1974 but was shot and killed by a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent on December 18, 1974 while still in custody, so he never stood trial for Pierce’s murder.

Pierce’s killing devastated her family and left unanswered legal questions since no conviction was reached. Does anyone have memories or information about Kathie Pierce, her time in Musella, or the events of August 23, 1974?