Norma Diane Cramer:1968, near Valparaiso
Hunters outside Valparaiso, Indiana came across her body. They were hunting raccoons and following the banks of Salt Creek. Their hunting dogs found her first. She was lying face down. She was partially clothed. She had been shot twice in the back of the head. The killer had attempted to set her on fire but the fire only burned her hair and her toes. She was wearing only sandals and a girdle. Her dress was wrapped around one arm. She was found on August 17th, 1968. The medical examiner estimated she had been there since early July 1968.
No gun was found at the site and no shell casings were found either. Her purse with identification inside was found later on a nearby roadside.
In late November 1968 she was finally identified by medical examiners and anthropologists. Dental records were compared as well. Her name was Norma Diane Cramer.
Norma Diane Cramer was born on November 11th 1946. She lived with her parents at 365 White Oak Drive in Elyria, Ohio. It’s a lovely small house that looks like much of the late 1940’s early 1950’s housing for working people in big cities. Norma worked in retail sales in 1968.
Looking at what I think is the spot where Norma was found, it seems like she walked into that area. She was likely killed there. It would be a difficult thing for someone to carry her into that area. She was found on what sounds like a sandbar in Salt Creek. It was near the Salt Creek Bridge off 500N west of 350N. (350N appears to no longer be there. A neighborhood exists nearby that was not there in 1968.)
Norma had a former boyfriend, Mark Michael Varasso, in Portage, Indiana. One newspaper article said that she had traveled to Portage to try to rekindle their relationship. She was crying when she left his home on July 2nd 1968. A gas station attendant across the street said he also saw her leaving then. The gas station attendant said she got into a red car.
Mark Michael Varasso had just graduated from high school that Spring in 1968. He later enlisted in the Army, served out his enlistment and returned to his hometown of Corry, Pennsylvania. He died in 2021 and seems to have lived a normal sort of quiet life. He was questioned after Norma’s remains were identified and passed a polygraph examination.
I wonder where those two met. She lived in Elyria on the west side of Cleveland. He lived in Corry, Pennsylvania which is almost 3 hours away by car. I am thinking if they had a relationship it was probably very brief and most of it took place long distance by mail. Maybe they met at a summer camp or through friends or relatives?
Who was driving that red car?
It seems that Norma Diane Cramer did not own a car but got around by hitchhiking. Many young people did in those days despite the danger.
According to a newspaper article her purse contained a receipt from a drugstore in Beaver, Pennsylvania dated July 16th, 1968. Was it 7/16/1968 or 1/16/1968? A one can look like a seven depending on the typeface on an old receipt.
Her death certificate mentions that her remains were in an advanced state of decomposition. It seems unlikely that she left Portage on July 2nd and hitchhiked to Beaver, Pennsylvania, did a bit of shopping, only to come straight back to Valparaiso to be murdered. It seems more likely that she was murdered shortly after speaking with Mark Varasso and leaving there in tears.
Who was driving the red car? That person might not be her killer. They could have dropped her off and she could have gotten another ride.
It was early July and likely hot out. The man who picked her up might have said he knew a place where they could swim and wade. Perhaps he suggested that this might cheer her up. They parked and walked along into the creek. Maybe she wrapped her dress around her arm to keep it dry and out of the dirt. She kept her sandals on because the rocks in the creek hurt to walk barefoot on. But, she wasn’t with a man who cared about her and wanted to cheer her up. She was with a killer. He walked behind her and shot her. He sexually assaulted her and then tried to burn her body to eliminate any trace of her.
I wonder what evidence was saved in her case. I wonder if any testing can take place. I wonder who that man was who took her to Salt Creek that day in July 1968. It seems like he would have to have been a local who knew that they could drive from Portage 20 minutes or so to Valparaiso and swim and wade in Salt Creek.
Norma Diane Cramer had a young daughter in 1968. Her daughter had to grow up without her mother. Her family deserves answers. Maybe you know something. Maybe you know of a similar murder. Maybe you heard someone talking once. You might have the missing piece that can help solve this murder.
If you have information about the murder of Norma Diane Cramer please call the Porter County Sheriff’s Department at (219) 477-3130.
Rest In Peace Norma
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