Elaine Richardson:1979, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

   



  Elaine Richardson was born in 1956. Her mother was Sondra Lane. Elaine was the oldest child and had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Elaine was a graduate of Overbrook High School.


  Elaine Richardson was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1979. She lived at 1840 North 54th Street Wynnefield. 

Elaine Richardson's street.


  (If you’re not from Pennsylvania or nearby and you hear Indiana University you probably think that this college is in Bloomington, Indiana. Well, the state of Indiana has an Indiana University but so does the state of Pennsylvania. They are not the same place. They aren’t interconnected. They simply have the same name. It is confusing. To make it more confusing the one in Pennsylvania is in the town of…Indiana, Pennsylvania. We apologize for any confusion.)


  On Monday, April 16th, 1979, 22 year old Elaine Richardson was last seen getting on a city bus in Philadelphia to go to the Greyhound Terminal. She was headed back to college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. 


  Elaine was just two weeks away from graduating as an elementary education major. As the oldest daughter she probably babysat and helped guide her younger siblings so teaching probably felt very natural. Elaine was a Dean’s List student. She was a standout student with such a bright future. She was looking forward to beginning her career as a teacher. I’m sure her family already had travel plans made to attend her commencement ceremony. 



  But, Elaine did not make it back to college and call home as she usually did. Her family was incredibly worried. When they were unable to contact Elaine; they reported her missing to the state police on April 19th, 1979.




  That same day, a young woman’s body was found in Philadelphia under the Chestnut Street Bridge. A young woman was found clad only in her underwear. A rock weighing 72 pounds had been used to crush her face. The remains were identified as 22 year old Elaine Richardson. 


 The Chestnut Street Bridge is located not far from the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Philadelphia. It appears that Elaine made it to the area of the Greyhound terminal but was abducted before she could go inside and board a bus. Perhaps a man with a weapon threatened her and forced her to go with him. She might have looked like a target for robbery with her bags and things she was taking back to college. 


  Several articles were published when Elaine’s remains were found and in the days after. The first articles describe her body as “scantily clad” as if this victim was out walking around in their underwear instead of ending up that way after being attacked. That is victim blaming. (Even if a person was walking around in their underwear they don’t deserve to be murdered.) 


 Elaine’s case has gone cold. What evidence was preserved in her case? Was she sexually assaulted? It seems that she probably was. Is there DNA still preserved in her case? Perhaps the under garments still have her killer’s DNA on them? 

Sidney Rufus Brinkley circa 1981.


  One killer who was connected in the newspapers to Elaine Richardson’s murder was Sidney Rufus Brinkley. He is, I believe, now deceased but served a life sentence for several murders in 1979 and 1980.  The victims were all high achieving young women much like Elaine Richardson.  It seems that the other victims of Brinkley garnered more attention and had cases that had more evidence directly connecting Brinkley to the crime.  It often happens that some crimes get prosecuted and others get forgotten.  But we have the technology now to potentially find out who killed Elaine. Was Sidney Brinkley's DNA collected during his incarceration so that testing can take place? 



   Elaine was already such an accomplished young woman in 1979.  It is truly a shame that her life was stolen from the world.  Who knows what contributions she would have made as a teacher?  Rest In Peace, Elaine.


   Elaine is buried at Glenwood Memorial Gardens in Broomall, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.  


  If you have a tip in Elaine Richardson's case, please call the Pennsylvania State Police at 1-800-472-8477. 



  


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