Molly Kay Newell, 20, was found dead in Pinellas County, Florida, on September 29, 1977, having been thrown from the Gandy Bridge. An autopsy showed she had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head. Twelve days earlier she had pleaded guilty to a charge of offering to commit prostitution and served one day in jail.

Investigators quickly linked Molly’s death to a string of murders of young women in the Tampa Bay area that year. A multi-county task force of fifteen officers was assembled on October 3, 1977, after detectives noted commonalities: several victims had ties to the Dale Mabry Strip and many were believed to be involved in sex work. Five victims, including Molly, had been shot in the head with a .22 caliber firearm.

No one was ever arrested or charged specifically in Molly’s murder. Several suspects in the wider series were later prosecuted for other killings, and some confessions were made, but Molly’s case remains officially unsolved. Did anyone who knew Molly or who worked the Dale Mabry Strip back then see or hear anything that could help this cold case?