Michelle Maenza (November 28, 1961 - November 26, 1973)

Michelle Maenza (November 28, 1961 - November 26, 1973)

Michelle passed away just two days before her 12th birthday. She went missing in Rochester, New York, after she had left her home and headed towards a local shopping center, in order to retrieve her mother's purse which had been left there. Sadly, her body was discovered two days later in a ditch in the nearby town of Macedon. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. One child who knew Michelle said that she had seen a vehicle speeding around the corner of the road leading away from the plaza that Michelle had been walking to, and that she thought she saw Michelle sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle. However, the girl did not get a good look at the driver. It has long been believed that Michelle was killed by the same person who also murdered two other young girls in the Rochester area during the early 1970s. The three cases are known as the "Alphabet Murders", due to the fact that all three girls' first and last names began with the same letter, and their bodies were also discovered in a town that's name began with the same letter as their names. Although hundreds of people have been questioned over the years, no one has ever been charged with any of the murders, and all three remain unsolved. One of the prime suspects was eventually cleared by DNA evidence. Another man, who was convicted of the Hillside Strangler murders which occurred in Los Angeles in 1977-1978, is also a suspect and remains under suspicion. Although he had moved to Los Angeles, he was a native of Rochester, and was still living there and working as an ice cream vendor at the time is the Alphabet murders. Michelle was described as a shy, but friendly and kind little girl. She is greatly missed by those who loved her. Rest in peace, Michelle!

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