Katherine Ann Whitman:Elkhart

    

   Katherine Ann Whitman was born Katherine Ann Calvin in 1940.  Her parents were Raymond and Mamie Calvin. She was born into a large family. 

  According to the 1950 Census her siblings are Phyllis, Bobbie, Francis, Arthur and Connie.  Katherine was born between Francis and Arthur. 

  They lived in Coal City, in Owen County, Indiana. 

  It’s difficult to find all the documents I need to piece together her life. There is not much available on Ancestry.  She is only mentioned in the papers because of her murder. 

  I found her family in the 1950 census. I found a picture of her in high school in Coal City. I found her death certificate. But nothing in between. 

   In her high school photo she has dark wavy hair and a slightly serious look. She looks determined.  She looks like she’s going places in life. 

   I was not able to find a marriage certificate or announcement but at some point she marries Leon Whitman. We only know this information from her death certificate. 

   On December 1st, 1974 someone shot her six times. Police thought she was shot while in a car and then dumped along the side of the road in a rural area near the intersection of County Rd 17 and County Rd 14. How did she get there?  Was this someone she knew or a stranger? Six times seems like overkill to me. We know that overkill usually indicates strong attachments. 

  Her death certificate lists her marital status as separated. One news article mentions that she had been a resident of Indianapolis but had recently moved to Elkhart. Had she fled to Elkhart because of the separation? Did her husband track her down in Elkhart? Was he abusive? Could he have murdered her?  Simone felt strongly enough about her to shoot her six times. If it was a handgun; they emptied it. Certainly seems to point toward the husband. 

  It’s most likely that we will never know.  There were no follow-up articles about clues, leads, or arrests. There’s no mention of sexual assault in the articles. It seems that murdering her was the only objective for the killer. 

  Katherine was 33. She was trying for a new start in a new town. Her sister identified her and provided information for the death certificate. I was unable to track down exactly which sister because she went by her husband’s name. “Mrs. Theodore Stewart”. 

  Katherine’s murder happened about 20 days and a few miles from Victoria Ann McDonough in nearby South Bend.  One newspaper article seemed to have an annoyed tone about all the bodies being found lately. 

   Just like Victoria Ann McDonough, Katherine Ann Whitman’s murder was never solved. 

   The two murders were probably not connected although they share some similarities.  When someone is killed, investigators look first at the person closest to them. Sometimes that person isn’t the murderer. In this case; it seems most likely that it is.


  Rest in Peace Katherine Ann Calvin Whitman. You deserved better. 



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