1981 – Cold Case: Patricia Denise Palmer
The Wedding Dress Murder
Nineteen-year-old Patricia Denise Palmer was a newlywed in November of 1981. She had been married for about six months. Palmer and her husband were saving up to buy a house. She decided to place an ad in the newspaper classifieds to sell her wedding dress. The ad was placed on November 15. It appears that a predator found the ad –and answered. Two days after the ad was placed, Patricia Palmer was murdered.
The phone number in the ad belonged to Palmer's mother. On November 17, 1981, Palmer met with a man who she thought was a potential buyer. The meeting was to be at the home of her mother, near 41st and Sandusky in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That meeting was one of horror.
The man viciously attacked Palmer. She was sexually-assaulted, then strangled. Her nude body was placed in a bathtub full of water, where Palmer helplessly drowned. Her fight to escape her killer was very obvious. Palmer fought the man all the way down the hallway to the bathtub. The blood on the walls and the edge of the bathtub told the terrible story of her struggle.
That happened almost 30 years ago, and her killer has never answered for his brutal crime. Justice still waits for her killer. We hope it finds him someday. Someday soon.
On the day of her murder, Palmer was seen displaying the dress to a man at the front door of her mother's house. The man was described as being in his forties, with graying hair. A sketch was developed of that suspect. An age progression of the drawing was developed in 2007. The sketch on this page is the age progression. The original sketch has not been obtained. DNA from the rape kit was destroyed at the time due to improper storage. A piece of gum found in the tub may still hold a DNA clue.
Serial killer Paul Williford was considered a suspect. Williford, now incarcerated for the life without parole, was known for choking each of his victims. One of his victims was found in a bathtub. Another victim, who was fortunate to have survived, was discovered in a bathroom.
Wiilford told the Tulsa World about one of his police interviews:
"I told them about a couple out there that I choked, that passed out, and then I left. I know I did not kill them."
Court records show that Williford moved to Tulsa in 1980. Did he kill Patricia Palmer? We don't know. The murder matches his MO, but so do many others. Her killer may very well be on the streets to this day.
Patricia Palmer's case was featured on "The Maury Povich Show" in the 1990s.
The case has never been solved. If you have any information about the murder of Patricia Denise Palmer, please call the Tulsa CrimeStoppers at (918) 596-COPS. You can also leave a tip online at Tulsa CrimeStoppers Online Tips or Tulsa Police Online Tips.
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