March 20, 1979 – The Templeton Woods Murders

At 7:50 p.m. on March 20, 1979, Carol Lannen stepped into a red Ford Cortina on the corner of Exchange Street and Commercial Street in Dundee, Scotland. It was the last time the 18-year-old was seen alive. The next day her naked body was found in Templeton Woods. She had been strangled to death. Less than a year later, on Feb. 26, 1980, 20-year-old Elizabeth McCabe’s body was discovered in Templeton Woods by a person walking their dog. She was just 150 yards from where Lannen had been found. She was also naked and had been strangled.

Following Lannen’s murder, bloody and torn women’s clothing was discovered at a turn-out near Westhill. Two weeks after she was killed, Lannen’s possessions, including a sweater, pants, tights, a handbag with money, and a family allowance book, were discovered in Kintore, Aberdeenshire, roughly 12 miles from the turn-out in Westhill.

McCabe was last seen leaving Teazers, a discotheque on Union Street, the night before she died. Her clothing and handbag were later discovered in three different parts of Dundee.

Witnesses saw the Cortina driver. He was described as being between 25 and 30 years old, with a thin build, pale complexion, short dark hair, sideburns, and a mustache. Police interviewed more than 6,000 drivers of Ford Cortinas but never found a suspect. It was believed McCabe got into a taxi after she left Teazers, and a suspect was arrested. He was tried in 2007 and found not guilty. Both cases remain unsolved.