For more than a month, the disappearance of 15-year-old Elizabeth Johnson had troubled Kingston, New Jersey. She had vanished from her home on August 12, 1924, leaving behind worried family, unanswered questions, and a community waiting for news.
On September 15, the search came to a tragic end.
Her body was discovered in a clump of bushes on the grounds of St. Joseph’s College, near Lake Carnegie.
The remains were badly decomposed, but authorities were able to identify the missing schoolgirl by her clothing and jewelry. A bullet wound in the left temple revealed that Elizabeth had not merely wandered away or met with an accident. She had been killed.
The discovery raised grim new questions. Beneath the body was a Philadelphia newspaper dated August 12, the same day Elizabeth disappeared. When investigators lifted the remains, a .32 caliber bullet fell to the ground. Police believed she had been dead since shortly after she was last seen.
The case carried another troubling detail. Friends recalled that Elizabeth had, about a year earlier, caused the arrest of a Kingston youth who was later sentenced to six months in jail. Whether that past incident had any connection to her death was not yet known.
What began as a missing girl’s case had become a murder investigation, and the quiet college grounds near Lake Carnegie were now at the center of a disturbing mystery.
Missing Girl’s Body Found Mutilated
KINGSTON, N.J., Sept. 15, 1924. — The mutilated body of Elizabeth Johnson, a 15-year-old school girl, who had been missing from her home since August 12, was found on the grounds of St. Joseph’s College near Lake Carnegie.
Bullet Hole in Temple
The body was in an advanced state of decomposition.
A bullet hole in the left temple revealed the cause of death.
Identification was made by the clothing the girl wore and by some jewelry.
According to police, the girl had been dead since shortly after her disappearance.
The body was found in a clump of bushes about 100 yards off the main road by James Casserly, the college caretaker, who immediately notified the authorities of Middlesex and Somerset Counties and the New Jersey State Police.
An autopsy was to be performed on the body in New Brunswick.
Bullet Falls to Ground
When the body was lifted, the head crumpled and a .32 caliber, steel jacketed bullet fell to the ground. Under the body was a copy of a Philadelphia newspaper dated August 12, the date on which the girl disappeared.
Friends of the slain girl said she was exceedingly attractive, large for her age, and precocious.
About a year ago, it was recalled, Elizabeth caused the arrest of a Kingston youth who, subsequently, was sentenced to six month in jail upon her charge.
Source: The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. September 15, 1924.
