On a January morning in 1971, 57-year-old Orline Christian was in her Richmond, Virginia, backyard hanging laundry when she collapsed and died. Her death was first attributed to a heart attack, but funeral home staff found a small hole and a dried bloodstain in the dress she was wearing. A re-examination revealed a small caliber bullet wound beneath her armpit.

Detectives reconstructed the scene and established the bullet trajectory led to a window of the neighboring Briley family home. A rifle was recovered there and 16-year-old Linwood Earl Briley confessed, first saying the shot was accidental while he aimed at squirrels or pigeons, then later admitting he had shot her deliberately and remarking he believed her existing heart problems meant she would have died soon anyway. Linwood was sent to reform school for one year.

Orline Christian’s killing proved to be the first known murder linked to the Briley household before a later, much larger crime spree. Does anyone have memories or information about Mrs. Christian, her neighborhood, or the investigation in 1971?