Billboard seeks info on cold case
BELLINGHAM – Clear Channel Outdoor Boston has donated digital billboard space on Route 140 in Franklin to help investigators solve the cold case of Theresa Corley, who was murdered 40 years ago this month.
In December of 1978, 19-year-old Corley left a party at a bar when police say she was picked up by a group of men and allegedly sexually assaulted. Corley was apparently seen hitch hiking but she never returned home. Her naked body was found in a ditch along Interstate 495 several days later. The identity of her killer or killers remains a mystery 40 years later.
Corley’s murder remains the subject of an intensive investigation by the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office and Massachusetts State Police.
Erected last week, the Clear Channel Outdoor billboard next to the former Ficco’s Bowladrome on East Central Street (Route 140) near the Wrentham town line will alert the public that solving Corley’s murder
remains a top priority. The billboard bears an image from Theresa’s Bellingham High School senior class photo session.
Digital billboards have proven to be an effective tool for law enforcement in cases such as this, and with the passing of time, the hope is someone with information will come forward.
“Clear Channel Outdoor has a long and proud history of assisting law enforcement and public safety agencies,” said Stephen Ross, president of Clear Channel Outdoor Boston Division. “Our hope is these billboards compel someone out there to come forward with information that helps bring justice to Theresa and peace to her family.”
The family announced the billboard via social media last week.
“Thank you to Clear Channel, Massachusetts State Police and the Norfolk County DA,” said Corley’s sister, Gerri Houde of Bellingham. “Any exposure is good exposure and the Corley family is grateful to have support and the knowledge that people are working hard to find justice for Theresa.”
Late last year, the Corley case took a dramatic turn when the family was told by the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office that State Police investigators were been able to produce a full suspect DNA profile from a tiny sample of semen collected from the jeans Corley was wearing the night she was murdered. Investigators have had the DNA sample ever since Corley’s murder, but were waiting for DNA technology to improve before testing it. The sample was slated to be sent to a national DNA crime database, but the family’s hopes were dashed last summer when it turned out that the DNA sample was not a complete profile after all.
In May of 2016, Corley’s remains were exhumed from St. Mary’s Cemetery in Milford for DNA testing. The exhumation was conducted under the supervision of the Office of Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey, which sent several Massachusetts State Police detectives and a team of forensic experts to collect possible DNA samples in hopes of discovering new evidence that could shed light on Corley’s case. Those samples, however, did not yield anything.
The cold case investigation, however, is moving forward as the new year approaches. The family is working with a new assistant district attorney and state trooper, and the family has been told that persons who had been interviewed in the past are being re-interviewed and asked to provide DNA samples.
“We also understand that there is other physical evidence that is being tested,” Houde said.
The unsolved murder of Theresa Corley has haunted investigators in Bellingham and Franklin for more than three decades.
On the night of Dec. 4, 1978, 19-year-old Theresa and some companions went to a bar, the former Train Stop in Franklin, to celebrate a friend’s birthday. After getting into an altercation with one of those friends, Corley left the bar and hitchhiked home.
She was picked up by three men who drove her back to an apartment complex on West Central Street in Franklin where they attempted to sexually assault her. Corley escaped from the apartment and made her way down Route 140 to get back to her home in Bellingham. She was reportedly last seen by a truck driver in the early morning hours walking in the area of Bellingham Center, less than a mile from her home.
A few days later, her body was found in a ditch on the northbound side of Route 495 in Bellingham. She had been strangled and was naked. Her jeans and jacket were found beside her.
This year, Theresa Corley would have been 59 years old.
Houde, who has been working with Franklin and Bellingham police over the past three years, created a Facebook community page called “Justice for Theresa Corley Bellingham MA 1978,” as a way to keep the cold case alive and a way to update the public on new developments.
The family is still offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder.
Meanwhile, Houde hopes the new billboard will compel someone out there to come forward with information.
“I like the fact that her image is up there,” she said. “It let’s people know that we’re still looking for answers to help solve this crime.”
Anyone with information about the Corley case is asked to contact the Bellingham Police tip line at (508) 657-2863; Franklin Police tip line at (508) 440-2780 or by email at tips@franklinpolice.com; or Norfolk County District Attorney’s tip line at (617) 593-8840.
All calls and information will be kept in the strictest confidence.