Linda Riddley:1975, Cleveland, Ohio

  

   Linda Riddley was born in 1956 to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A Riddley. She was the oldest child. Sharon, Thomas A. Jr. and Cecilia made up the rest of the family. 


  Linda was smart and hardworking. She graduated from East Tech High School in 1973 and went right to work. 


  When Linda was 19 she was working as a clerk at Ohio Bell Telephone Company. She usually got a ride to work with a co-worker and friend of the family. Carpooling made good economic sense. Linda needed to watch every penny. 

   

   Linda’s father had suffered a heart ailment and wasn’t able to work for a couple of years prior to 1975. Linda wanted to help her family. 


   Linda was an avid reader in her free time. I found a 1975 yearly report of the Langston Hughes Branch Library which mentioned the loss of Linda. She was a frequent borrower of books there. The librarian mentioned that library traffic slowed considerably after Linda’s murder so close by. 


   Normally Linda carpooled but on December 19th, 1975, she was walking to the bus stop. Normally she rode with Mr. William Franklin, who also happened to be a Councilman in their district, but he had called that morning because his car wouldn’t start. 


  After work he called the Riddley home to express concern because Linda had not made it to work. He felt bad about his car not starting. That’s when the Riddley family found out that Linda was missing.  


  Linda was reported missing. Searches were conducted and the word was spread through the newspapers in the next days.


  Christmas came and went that year with no word about Linda. Her friends and family knew she wouldn’t run away. Her co-workers knew her to be dependable and level headed.


  Articles in the newspaper reminded the public that Linda was still missing. 




  On December 30th, 1975, Linda was found in an abandoned building close to the same bus stop that she was headed to that day. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Investigators thought that a belt was used to strangle her. 



  Before Linda was identified, her parents had been called down to the coroner’s office to possibly identify a different body. The female victim that they first viewed was not their daughter. Hours later they were called again and this time the victim they viewed was indeed their daughter, Linda.  Imagine the stress and emotional roller coaster that must have been. Keep in mind her father had a heart condition. 


  Linda’s murder is still unsolved. Who could have done this?  I am just starting to work on Cleveland and Akron area cases. The two cities are not far apart. If I see a pattern or a possible suspect I will update the blog post. 


  Linda had aspirations and dreams for her life. At the time of her murder she was mostly concerned with working and helping her family financially. She was only 19. 


  If you have a tip that can help investigators please call the police in Cleveland, Ohio: (216) 623-5000. 


  Her case is not on the Ohio Unsolved Website yet. 



  Rest in Peace Linda.



YouTube video to share about Linda’s case:


https://youtu.be/dHiguiO_obs?si=q9sn8VhGOYBi4SYA




  



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