On February 22, 1972, Shirley Elizabeth Whitten, 19, and Roger Dale Higgins, 26, were found stabbed to death in Oak Grove Cemetery in Wildwood, Florida. Both victims had been stabbed multiple times; Whitten was discovered partially unclothed and lying near Higgins, a detail that underscores the brutality and personal nature of the attack. Whitten worked at the Union 76 Truck Stop in Wildwood, and Higgins was associated with a South Florida trucking company.

Witnesses and local residents reported seeing the two together in the area before the killings, and some speculated a heated disagreement may have preceded the murders. Rumors also circulated that Whitten might have been pregnant, which some locals suggested as a possible motive. Despite leads and suspicions—including mentions of a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend—no one was ever formally charged and the investigation eventually went cold. Attempts to revive the case, including work by retired profilers and other investigators, have not produced a breakthrough.

Did anyone in Wildwood at the time remember seeing Shirley or Roger together that February morning or know of tensions in Shirley’s personal life?