Forrest Clyde Williams III killed Pamela Lynn Conyers
Pamela Lynn Conyers, left, and the man believed to have killed her in 1970, Forrest Clyde Williams III, appear in photos shown during a news conference in March 2023. (Anne Arundel County Police Department)
It was Pamela Lynn Conyers when she was found dead in a car in October 1970. Almost 53 years later, police in Anne Arundel County, Maryland believe they know who killed her.
However, the justice bestowed by the state will remain elusive indefinitely; the man believed to be responsible for her death is also dead.
On Friday, the Anne Arundel County Police Department said Forrest Clyde Williams III of Salem, Virginia, was the killer.
“After more than 52 years, we have identified the suspect in the murder of Pamela Lynn Conyers,” Anne Arundel County Police Commissioner Amal Awad said in comments reported by Baltimore-based NBC affiliate WBAL. “This suspect is Forrest Clyde Williams III; However, Mr Williams died in 2018. If he were alive he would have been charged with the murder of Pamela Conyers.”
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Conyers was attending Glen Burnie High School in the Baltimore suburb of the same name when she died. Her family last saw her alive when she drove out in the family car at around 8:30 p.m. on October 16, 1970 to run an errand at the Harundale Plaza shopping mall. She never returned and was reported missing that same night.
Three days later, the car was spotted near Mountain Road and Route 100. The day after, her loved ones’ worst fears came true. Conyer’s body was found between the eastbound and westbound lanes of Maryland Route 177, which extends to Millersville, Maryland.
Multiple pieces of evidence from the crime scene were processed, according to Washington, DC-based Fox affiliate WTTG. But none of that evidence was of much help until decades later.
“This is a case that has haunted me for almost 53 years,” classmate Mike Golden told WBAL. “I remember exactly when Pam disappeared. I remember that Monday morning. I had (trigonometry) classes with her and seeing her empty desk really brought me home, made it real. I still mourn her death. I have to grow old She didn’t. She’s 16 forever.”
According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Maryland, the victim died of “suffocation by strangulation.”
Williams attended Northeast High School in Pasadena, Maryland. A photo of the alleged killer, made available during the press conference, was taken months after the assassination when he was being arrested on charges unrelated to the murder.
The alleged killer would have lived to be 74 if he were still alive, police said.
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While details about the investigation are scarce, law enforcement officials said the breakthrough was made possible by DNA evidence and genetic genealogy.
“The FBI, through investigative genetic genealogy, helped identify the man who killed Pamela,” said Tom Sobocinski, acting special agent for the FBI’s Baltimore field office, during the news conference. “We hope this brings some comfort to those who loved her.”
Police said Conyers’ family had been briefed on the development and had asked for privacy.
Officials believe Williams was responsible for Conyers’ deaths. However, they also urged anyone with additional information to come forward.
“Detectives and investigators have not ruled out the possibility that one or more other individuals could be involved in Pam’s murder,” Lt. Jacklyn Davis of the Anne Arundel County Police Department during the press conference.
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https://lawandcrime.com/crime/shes-forever-16-law-enforcement-says-dead-man-is-responsible-for-killing-a-girl-from-the-baltimore-suburbs-who-never-came-back-from-the-mall-in-1970-cold-case-murder/ Forrest Clyde Williams III killed Pamela Lynn Conyers
