A Kidnapping & Murder

Mary Lou Aruda was 15 when she disappeared from a street in Raynham, Massachusetts, shortly after four o'clock on September 8, 1978. She had been riding her bicycle; the bicycle was found in the street, but she was gone.

details of the account remain covered until revealed Witnesses had seen his bright green Opal near the Freetown State Forest at about half past four. Benson and Hedges cigarettes, the brand found near the abduction site, were in the car; the tyres had a distinctive wear pattern from a failing wheel bearing, matching tracks by Mary Lou's bicycle; and two newspapers in the car were open at the story of her disappearance. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

His alibi placed him at the cleaners at 3.45, Friendly's at 4.15, Bradley's store at 5.45 and his Dunkin' Donuts at 6.15. Police checks put him at Bradley's at 6.40 and the shop at seven, found that Friendly's had not seen him and that he missed a 5.30 appointment. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed

On November 11, 1978, dirt bike riders found Mary Lou's partially decomposed body in the Freetown State Forest, fully clothed and tied to a tree by the hands, ankles and neck with fabric twine. The autopsy showed that she was alive when tied, died on the day she was taken, and was strangled when the rope tightened as she lost consciousness and fell forward.

A week later, about a mile away through unconnected woods, police found a large wooden cross, yellow twine, leather straps, a T-shirt, shorts, a towel and a paper bag. The officer photographed the items and left them there. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now Five witnesses identified his car, a mechanic said the tyre damage implied about 5,000 miles of driving, and an FBI tread expert linked the tyres to the impressions beside Mary Lou's bicycle. The Bussieri case was admitted as a prior bad act. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now In April 1980 a newspaper published the photographs of the cross and other items under the headline 'Satanic cult may be linked to murders'. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He was moved to Lompoc, California, for his own safety.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now The motion was rejected in July, the court holding that the two cases were so similar as to amount to a signature. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now The courts held that the state had no duty to preserve the cross and other items because it had never possessed them, and on August 30, 2000, the Supreme Judicial Court rejected his challenge to the earlier case. On April 16, 2007, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.

Raynham remembered Mary Lou. A soccer complex was named the Mary Lou Aruda Borden Colony Complex, and in 2011 the police chief, Donovan, persuaded the town council to make September 8 Child Safety Awareness Day. details of the account remain covered until revealed Mary Lou's mother, Joanne Aruda, said she thought she would be happier the following week, that she had always feared he would slip through the system, and that now she knew he would rot in hell.