Paula Payne was 20 when she was murdered in Dayton, Ohio, on August 9, 1977. That morning she left her home on Manhattan Avenue to go to a summer teaching job at the Dayton Museum of Natural History and was never seen alive by her family again. When she failed to arrive at work, a search was begun and later that day her naked body was found in woods near the museum.

Investigators determined she had been strangled with her own blouse and there were indications she may have been sexually assaulted. The blouse used in the strangulation remains a key piece of evidence; it had not yet undergone advanced DNA testing when the case was reviewed by the Dayton Police Cold Case Unit. Family members remember Payne as a driven young woman who loved nature and biology, and the community was deeply affected by the crime.

Anyone who lived in the area in 1977 or who may have information about Paula’s movements, acquaintances, or unusual activity near the museum is asked to contact investigators to help bring closure to the Payne family.